OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming “border czar” left a CNN host stunned with his frank, blunt response to any Democratic mayor or state official who actively participates in blocking federal immigration authorities from deporting people in the U.S. illegally after he takes office.
In a segment this week, host Kasie Hunt played a two video clips — one of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who has promised to obstruct czar Tom Homan’s efforts to apprehend illegal immigrants. Johnston made headlines earlier for suggesting that he would like to see city police block federal immigration authorities from entering Denver, an action he compared to Tiananmen Square.
Hunt then played a clip of Homan during a Fox News segment with host Sean Hannity, where he promised that Johnston and other obstinant Democratic officials would face legal repercussions if he followed through on his threat to block federal immigration authorities.
“But look, me and the Denver mayor we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail. I’m willing to put him in jail. There’s a statute, Title 8, United States Code 1324 – AAA. And what it says is it’s a felony if you knowingly harbor and conceal illegal aliens from immigration authorities. It is also a felony to impede a federal law enforcement officer,” Homan.
“So if you don’t want to help, that’s fine. He can get the hell out of the way, but we’re going to go do the job. President Trump has a mandate from the American people. We’ve got to secure this country and save American lives,” he added.
That led Hunt to react with a stunned “Ooof!”
WATCH:
CNN reacting to Tom Homan pic.twitter.com/THY8yFN4v7
— Dr. Richard Harambe (@Richard_Harambe) November 27, 2024
Johnston is not the first progressive mayor to publicly challenge Tom Homan, a veteran of the first Trump administration’s ICE personnel.
Earlier this month, Boston’s Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu faced scrutiny after vowing to deny federal authorities access to city resources during raids aimed at locating and arresting violent criminals.
While a 2014 city ordinance prevents cooperation on civil immigration matters, it does not apply to criminal cases, according to the Boston Herald. Wu told a local TV station, “We are not cooperating with those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and having large-scale economic impact.”
Homan further elaborated on the duties Trump has entrusted him with during his interview with Hannity.
“I find it shocking that any mayor of a city would say — President Trump’s been clear. We want to concentrate on public safety threats and national security threats,” he said.
“I find it hard to believe that any mayor or governor would say they don’t want public safety threats removed from their neighborhoods. I mean, I don’t know what the hell is going on in Denver, but we’re going to go and we’re going to fix it. If you don’t want to fix it, if he doesn’t want to protect his communities, President Trump and ICE will,” he continued.
That led Hannity to ask: “So you will be going into Colorado, Illinois, New York, California, and you are going to you are going to uphold the law of the land. That’s your commitment. It doesn’t matter what these elected politicians threaten or say that they are going to do?”
Homan was adamant: “We’re going to enforce the law, period, and they’re not going to stop us.”
Trump has also nominated South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be his Department of Homeland Security secretary due to her solid support and actions aligning with the president-elect regarding the porous U.S. borders under Biden-Harris.
As governor, Noem has taken a firm stance on immigration, calling the administration’s border crisis an “invasion.” She has supported the construction of stronger physical barriers at the border and improved screening of refugees.
In 2021, South Dakota became the first state to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist Texas after the Biden-Harris administration failed to enforce immigration laws effectively. Since then, Noem has deployed troops to the border eight times.
