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“Border Tsar” Tom Homan pushed back against claims that the president Donald Trump sent him to Minneapolis as part of a pullback from the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
“If anyone thinks that Tom Homan, if President Trump, is not serious about immigration enforcement and mass deportations, he hasn’t been paying attention,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Friday.
Joining “Hannity” for his first interview since being sent to Minneapolis, Homan detailed his mission to defuse widespread unrest in Minnesota while making clear there would be no surrender.
“To set the record straight, because my staff said they’ve seen a lot of people saying that President Trump is going back on his mass deportation promise — that’s just not true,” he said.
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White House “border czar” Tom Homan speaks to the press outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, January 14. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
“For those who want to misinterpret what President Trump is sending me in Minneapolis, then you are not paying attention,” Homan said.
President Donald Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis this week to replace Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino, who the president suggested has not adequately overseen the state’s immigration crackdown.
“Bovino is very good, but he’s a pretty extravagant guy,” Trump told Will Cain on Fox News on Tuesday. “And in some cases it’s good. Maybe it wasn’t good here.”
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“Tom is fantastic. Tom is a tough guy, but I’ve watched him over the years, and he gets along well with governors and with mayors,” he added. “Some people don’t. Some people just want to do their job and leave me alone.”
The split image shows Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino in El Centro, Calif., on the left, and Border Czar Tom Homan, on the right. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Tom Brenner for the Washington Post via Getty Images)
On “Hannity,” Homan Revealed More About His “Production” meeting Tuesday with the governor of Minnesota. Tim Waltz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
He said leaders are committed to honoring federal immigration detainees within the Minnesota prison system, by allowing officers to make arrests inside prisons rather than searching the streets for suspects.
“The more officers we have in the prisons, the more the rest of those people are in the security of a prison, it’s safer for the officer, safer for the outsider, safer for the community,” Homan explained.
Federal agents operating in neighborhoods to locate deportation targets have been a hot spot for widespread unrest in Minnesotawith members of the public protesting their actions.
Federal agents attempt to evacuate protesters near a hotel, using tear gas during a noisy demonstration in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Adam Gray/AP Photo)
“An officer can arrest a bad guy in a prison rather than sending a whole team out into the community,” Homan said. “And with all the hateful and rhetorical attacks, then we have to send another team to keep it safe.”
“What one officer can do in a prison, we have to send 15 or 16 guys to do it,” he added.
Homan said that if Walz and Frey follow through on their commitment to cooperation, the number of federal agents in Minnesota could be reduced.
“We can reduce the number of officers there, because we are in the prisons,” he said.
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Protesters chant and bang on trash cans as they stand behind a makeshift barricade during a demonstration in response to the death of Alex Pretti, 37, who was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol officer earlier in the day, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
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While Homan said his goal was to calm tensions in Minnesota amid unrest sparked by the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, he stressed that his leadership would not waver.
“We’re going to have a mass deportation, but we’re going to prioritize arresting criminals and threats to public safety,” he said.
“If you are in a country illegally, you are not excluded. We will also find you and deport you as well.”
