Incoming Border Czar Pledges 'Historic Deportation'

President-elect Trump's newly named "border czar" is providing a sense of how his crackdown on undocumented immigrants will play out next year, describing a deportation program that he says would be unprecedented in scale. "People say, well, it sounds awful cruel, you want to remove millions," Tom Homan tells the Sunday Times of London. But "of course there has to be historic deportation, because we had historic immigration." Details:

• The czar: Homan, whose position does not require Senate confirmation, is a former border agent who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more than a year in Trump's first term. He has since worked as a Fox News analyst on immigration and the border, per the Washington Post.
• The 'worst:' Homan says "we're going to concentrate on the worst of the worst," at the start of the deportation push, suggesting an emphasis on criminals. He reiterated that Monday on Fox News: "I've been clear, and President Trump's been clear: Public safety threats and national security threats will be the priority because they have to be," he said. "They pose the most danger to this country."

• Workplace raids: Beyond the crackdown on criminals, Homan said "worksite operations have to happen" as well, suggesting that large-scale raids at job sites halted under the Biden administration would resume. That would sync with comments Homan made over the summer, when he promised, "I will run the biggest deportation operation this country's ever seen," per the AP. "You better start packing now," he warned migrants at the Republican convention.
• Another change: The US also would end the catch-and-release policy of allowing those arriving at the border to enter the US while their cases are being considered. Those on the southern border, for example, would have to wait in Mexico. He predicted that "nine out of 10 are going to lose their [asylum] case, and the judge is going to say, 'You must go home.'"
• Military role: Homan tells the London newspaper he doesn't envision the military making arrests, "but they can certainly do transportation" as well as "infrastructure-building." That's a reference to holding centers for undocumented immigrants. "They can certainly help build these facilities and help finish the (Mexico border) wall with the Army Corps of Engineers."
• Prison stock: NBC News reports that stocks of private prisons such as Geo Group and CoreCivic rose on Monday when Homan was announced, presumably because they could play a role in holding immigrants.

Stephen Miller also landed a role in the Trump administration Monday. (More Tom Homan stories.)