President Trump’s deportation chief will step down from his job, administration sources confirmed Monday, short-circuiting what would have been a bruising battle with Congress over his confirmation and leaving a massive hole for Mr. Trump to fill.
Thomas D. Homan, who has been acting as the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since the beginning of the Trump administration, has been the president’s most vocal advocate for a get-tough policy toward illegal immigration.
He’s battled against sanctuary cities, warned those living in the U.S. illegally to “be afraid” of getting deported, and has even asked the Justice Department to prosecute local officials who refuse to cooperate with his officers and agents.
“It has been the honor of my life to lead the men and women of ICE for more than a year. The decision to leave federal service after more than 34 years is bittersweet, but my family has sacrificed a lot in order for me to serve and it’s time for me to focus on them,” Mr. Homan said in a statement announcing his decision Monday.
“I am humbled and inspired by the 20,000 American patriots who serve this agency and protect our nation, increasingly in the face of unfair and false criticism from politicians and the media,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported his departure, said Mr. Homan will step down in June.
Mr. Homan was set to speak Monday night at the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, where he was receiving the Leader of the Year award.
Mr. Homan is currently the deputy director at ICE but there is no director, so he’s been performing the top role since January 2017. Mr. Trump last year nominated him to the director’s position permanently, but the nomination had barely budged since then.
Mr. Homan had actually had a retirement party last year and was ready to leave government when John F. Kelly, who at the time was poised to become Homeland Security secretary, asked him to stay on as the acting director while they searched for a nominee.
He eventually ended up being the pick himself — though his nomination has languished.
“He’s done a great job,” said Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the Center for Immigration Studies, which backs stricter enforcement.
She said, though, that there should be other people who can pick up from Mr. Homan.
“Tom was the right person at the right time, but the administration’s approach to enforcement is very very popular in law enforcement circles generally, so I don’t think they will have trouble finding someone to take his place,” she said.
Democrats last week said there was something fishy with Mr. Homan’s nomination, saying Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, was withholding information the Senate had requested, and that was delaying his process.
Led by Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, the Democratic senators said the administration was afraid to put Mr. Homan in front of the Senate, where lawmakers could question him over his record and, perhaps, try to defeat his nomination.
Mr. Durbin said Monday that Mr. Homan’s departure doesn’t relieve pressure on ICE.
“Last week, I called on [Homeland Security] to produce documents related to this controversial nomination. Now we learn that the nominee is leaving, but ICE still has critical questions to answer about the agency’s role in the President’s mass deportation agenda,” the Illinois Democrat tweeted.
Ms. Vaughan, though, said if Mr. Homan’s nomination was in jeopardy, “that is more a reflection on the Senate than on Tom Homan or on the administration.”
“Here is a guy who’s a career immigration official, knows that agency and its mission inside and out, and is enforcing the law the way it was written by Congress an carrying out the agenda of the Trump administration in an admirable way, and yet there are some Republicans and many Democrats that don’t want to see that happen,” she said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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