BS BULLETIN:
- CBS News pressed border czar Tom Homan about criticism from Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar that many ICE detainees have no additional criminal charge or conviction.
- Homan responded with a question: “Are they in the country illegally?” When the reporter answered yes, Homan said, “They’re deportable, by federal law.”
- Homan argued that being removable under immigration law and having an additional criminal conviction are separate questions.
Tom Homan needed only one question to explain the Trump administration’s position on immigrants detained by ICE who don’t have an additional criminal conviction.
CBS News immigration correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez interviewed the White House border czar amid growing criticism of the administration’s immigration crackdown, including complaints from some Republicans.
The reporter raised comments from Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who has warned that some Hispanic voters who supported President Donald Trump now believe immigration enforcement has gone too far.
Among Salazar’s concerns was the number of ICE detainees without another criminal charge or conviction.
Homan immediately challenged the premise.
“Are they in the country illegally?” he asked.
“Yes,” Montoya-Galvez answered.
“Then they’re deportable, by federal law,” Homan responded.
The reporter noted that the same description could apply to millions of people living in the United States.
“Yeah,” Homan replied. “If you’re in the country illegally, you got a problem. You shouldn’t be here.”
The exchange highlights a distinction that frequently gets blurred in the political argument over immigration enforcement.
A person does not necessarily need an additional criminal conviction to be subject to removal under federal immigration law. Immigration proceedings are generally civil rather than criminal proceedings, and a person can be removable because of his or her immigration status.
That does not mean every person without lawful status is situated identically. Immigration law contains multiple forms of relief and protection, and Homan acknowledged that people arrested by ICE can have their cases heard.
“Everybody we arrest has an opportunity to see a judge and plead their case,” he told CBS.
The larger interview was considerably broader than the viral exchange.
Homan was questioned about ICE tactics, Republican criticism of the administration, body cameras and the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renee Good during an immigration enforcement operation.
When asked about Salazar’s broader contention that enforcement had gone too far, Homan challenged critics to identify specifically where.
“Give me an example of where we went too far,” he said.
Homan maintained that the administration continues to prioritize people it considers public-safety threats while making clear that ICE enforcement isn’t restricted to immigrants with separate criminal convictions.
His message to lawmakers criticizing that approach was equally direct.
“I wish they’d sit down and talk to ICE,” Homan said. “I wish they’d find out: What is ICE doing? How are they doing it? And educate themselves.”
MY QUICK TAKE
There is a legitimate policy argument hiding underneath this exchange, but the terminology matters.
“No criminal record” does not mean “not removable.”
Congress wrote immigration law that way. Deportation proceedings aren’t simply an additional punishment reserved for people convicted of murder, robbery or some other conventional crime.
Now, Congress can change those laws. A president can establish enforcement priorities within the authority Congress has given the executive branch. And Americans can argue all day about whether ICE should prioritize dangerous criminals while leaving otherwise law-abiding undocumented immigrants alone.
That’s the political debate.
But Homan’s question exposed why the “no additional criminal charge” statistic doesn’t settle it.
“Are they in the country illegally?”
“Yes.”
At that point, CBS had moved from arguing about what the law permits to arguing about how broadly the government should enforce it.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Twitchy — Tom Homan explains immigration law during CBS interview
- CBS News — Homan defends ICE crackdown amid growing GOP criticism
- CBS News — Extended Tom Homan interview
- Cornell Legal Information Institute — Deportability under federal immigration law
