Trump’s Border Czar Proposes Halfway Houses for Children of Undocumented Immigrants
“They will be placed in a halfway house,” remarks Tom Homan.
On Thursday, Tom Homan, the border czar for President-elect Donald Trump, indicated that the forthcoming administration might consider using halfway houses for the offspring of undocumented immigrants.
He mentioned that “they can… remain at home until the officers finalize the travel arrangements and come back to retrieve the family.”
“You placed your family in that situation,” he stated.
Furthermore, Homan noted that the administration would need to develop new detention facilities for families departing the United States.
“We will need to build family facilities,” Homan informed the Washington Post. “The number of beds required will depend on the data we gather.”
During a CNN interview earlier this month, Homan predicted that approximately 100,000 beds would be necessary for the mass deportation initiatives of the new administration. Throughout the campaign, a major promise from Trump was to launch this deportation strategy, while Homan noted later that the administration’s initial focus would be on undocumented immigrants with criminal histories.
Trump has also proposed the notion of revoking birthright citizenship, a move that could lead to a multitude of lawsuits. However, Homan conveyed to NewsNation on Thursday that having children born in the U.S. does not exempt undocumented immigrants from deportation.
“Having a U.S. citizen child does not grant you immunity from our laws, and we do not want to send the message that you can have a child and evade the laws of this nation,” Homan asserted.
Earlier in December, Trump told Time magazine that he would utilize the U.S. military to its full extent to support deportation initiatives. When asked about existing legislation that generally prevents military involvement in domestic law enforcement, Trump referred to illegal immigration as an invasion needing urgent action.
“I perceive it as an invasion of our country,” Trump stated. “We will involve the National Guard, and we will act as far as permitted under our laws.”
Although Trump did not dismiss the possibility of establishing new detention facilities for undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation, he expressed his administration’s intention to expedite the deportation process, thereby minimizing the necessity for camps or alternative locations.
“I do not want them languishing in camps for the next 20 years. I want them removed, and the countries must accept them back,” Trump articulated during the Time magazine interview.
Reuters contributed to this report.