Border Czar Homan Warns New York City that ICE Will Begin Operations Soon

Border Czar Tom Homan issued a stark warning to New York City officials during a Tuesday interview with Fox News, stating that federal immigration authorities are preparing to soon ramp up  their presence in the city.

Homan emphasized that while the administration is open to negotiation, the current status of New York as a sanctuary city has necessitated immediate federal intervention to remove “public safety threats.”

Homan made it clear that New York City is a primary target for upcoming enforcement operations due to its sanctuary policies. He explicitly stated that federal teams are already on the ground and that those numbers will grow.

“Regarding New York City, I plan on being there in the near future. We are going to do operations in New York City,” Homan said. “Teams are already there now, but we will increase the enforcement presence again because it is a sanctuary city, and we know we have an issue. There are public safety threats in the street.”

Homan described the strategy for dealing with uncooperative jurisdictions as “flooding the zone,” a tactic designed to bypass local restrictions.

“In sanctuary cities, we are flooding the zone because we know they are releasing public safety threats into the communities every day,” Homan explained. “That’s where the biggest problem is, and that’s where we are sending the majority of agents.”

Homan highlighted a specific point of contention regarding cooperation with NYC Mayor Eric Adams. He noted that previous attempts to coordinate arrests within the controlled environment of city jails were thwarted by local legislation.

“Mayor Adams and I at one point had an agreement to let ICE into Rikers Island so we could arrest the public safety threats in the safety and security of that facility, but the City Council shut it down,” Homan said.

He argued that the refusal of local leaders to assist federal agents forces ICE to conduct arrests in public, which increases the danger for both law enforcement and the community.

“We would much rather work with these sanctuary cities than keep putting our agents at extreme risk going out into the community to arrest public safety threats,” Homan stated. “They could have arrested them in the safety and security of a jail.”

While maintaining a hard line on New York, Homan offered a comparison to San Francisco. He revealed that he had spoken with the Mayor of San Francisco, who requested a chance to handle the issue through local agencies first. “He said, ‘Look, let my law enforcement, my leadership, see what we can do within our own government agencies here, and give us a chance.’ And he stepped up,” Homan recounted.

Homan indicated that a similar path remains open for New York City if its leadership chooses to engage.

“If the Mayor of New York City wants to come and talk about making the streets safer, we are open for discussion,” Homan said. “I’m willing to meet with anybody; President Trump is willing to meet with anybody. Let’s get together and work together.”

However, he reiterated that without such cooperation, the federal response would be overwhelming.
“But if they don’t want to assist—if they want to keep pushing back and impeding our efforts—then we are just going to send more teams there. We are going to flood the zone,” Homan warned.

Homan spoke of the recent arrest of Akhror Bozurov, an Uzbek national in Kansas who was wanted for terrorist ties and spreading jihadi propaganda. Homan cited this as proof that previous administration claims regarding vetting were inaccurate.

“I said the Biden administration was lying to the American people when they said everybody they released into the country was properly vetted. They weren’t,” Homan asserted.

He emphasized that under the current administration, federal laws are being enforced.

“Federal law says if you enter the country without a legal route or proper documentation, you shall be detained—not ‘maybe,’ not ‘think about it,’ not ‘release to an NGO’—you shall be detained,” Homan said.