Washington [US], November 12: US president-elect Donald Trump has named immigration hardliner Thomas D Homan as his administration's "border czar" to oversee the planned mass deportation of irregular migrants.
Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform late on Sunday. Homan previously served for a time at the head of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Trump's first period in office.
"I've known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our borders. Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all deportation of illegal aliens back to their country of origin," he posted. Homan was acting head of the ICE in 2017 and 2018. He is seen as backing the controversial decision to take children away from parents who entered the United States illegally. In many cases, it was years before the families were reunited.
Homan - along with Trump - said later that this measure was a means of deterrence to prevent families from seeking to enter the country in the first place. Asked in a recent television interview whether there was a way of implementing mass deportations without breaking up families, he responded: "Of course there is. Families can be deported together." He argued that even children born in the US, who are automatically citizens under US law, would have to leave the country, if their parents had entered illegally.
Trump selected Steven Miller, a longtime advisor who helped shape some of Trump's most drastic first-term immigration policies, such as family separation, as his deputy chief of staff for policy.
"This is another fantastic pick by the president," wrote Vice President-elect JD Vance in a post on X Monday, confirming the nomination.
Securing the country's borders was a central plank of Trump's election campaign.
According to surveys by the Pew Research Center, around 11 million undocumented immigrants were living in the US in 2022, with some of them in the country for decades.
According to the Pew figures they are part of around 6.3 million households with a total of more than 22 million people.
Separately, Trump also picked Elise Stefanik to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, the president-elect said in a statement carried by several US media, including Reuters and the Associated Press. He described her as "an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter".
Sefanik confirmed her acceptance of the role in a statement to the New York Post, saying she was "truly honoured" and ready to advance Trump's "peace through strength leadership".
Source: Qatar Tribune