Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee “the largest deportation operation in American history,” revealed Friday that the new administration is considering setting up a hotline that would allow Americans to report migrants suspected of committing crimes.
“I want a place where American citizens can call and report,” the incoming border czar said of the “fresh idea” being evaluated by the Trump transition team, during an interview with NBC News.
“We need to take care of the American people,” Homan added. “We need to make sure they have an outlet to help report child traffickers, forced labor traffickers.
“We want to give them an opportunity to be a part of the fix.”
Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, argued that the benefits of mass deporting migrants who have committed crimes while in the US illegally cannot be overstated.
“I think mass deportation and results of mass deportation are more important to this country than anything,” he said. “I don’t put a price on all these young women who’ve been raped and murdered. I don’t put a price on our national security.”
Homan, 63, also teased that the incoming administration would move to shut down the Darien Gap, a treacherous 70-mile stretch of jungle in Panama that serves as the only land bridge between South and Central America.
“It needs to happen,” he said. “Shutting down the Darien Gap is going to protect our national security. It’s going to save thousands of lives.”
The popular smuggling route was used by more than 530,000 migrants last year alone as part of caravan voyages destined for the US-Mexico border.
“We’re going to work with the foreign government,” Homan said of how the Trump administration would crack down on illegal crossings at the Darien Gap.
Panama’s Security Minister Frank Abrego told the Wall Street Journal last month that the country’s immigration authorities had seen a 40% drop in crossings but are concerned the numbers could creep up again without ongoing US support.
“We want the Trump administration to realize that its border is actually here at the Darien Gap and to see how complicated that area is,” Mulino told the Journal.
“We are still concerned,” he added.
