Thomas Homan, former head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, blamed Congress on Monday for the thousands of migrants headed toward the southern U.S. border through Mexico.
Homan spoke on Fox news as he charged that Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s comments about wanting to work with Republicans to improve U.S. border laws.
“There would not be a caravan today if they would have closed the loopholes on Flores settlement agreement about detaining families or raised the bar for asylum,” Homan said on Fox News Monday. “If they would have took the necessary steps they needed to take, we wouldn’t have had a caravan so if she wants to blame somebody for the current situation she needs to look in the mirror.”
“I hear the talk. Where is the walk?” Homan said of Klobuchar’s comments.
The Flores settlement agreement and Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act mandate that both families and unaccompanied minors from countries under than Mexico and Canada cannot be turned away or arrested if they illegally enter the country and must be permitted to apply for asylum.
The majority of families and children apprehended are released from federal custody and told to show up for immigration hearings on their asylum requests but do not show and disappear into the country. Four-in-five of those asylum cases are denied because they do not meet asylum standards.
Homan said Democrats’ calls to get rid of ICE, along with the creation of cities that will not cooperate with the agency to hold criminals in the country illegally, has given those attempting to unlawfully enter the country more reason to do so because they will be protected from federal law enforcement.
Homan applauded President Trump’s handling of the situation after Trump called Monday morning to “permanently” shut down the southern border if Mexico did not deport those waiting on the south side of the border.
He said Trump’s proposal was “absolutely perfect” because “Mexico needs to step up and take action.”
“Shutting the border down is gonna hurt Mexico a lot more than it’s gonna hurt this country,” Homan said.
Three Border patrol agents were hit by rocks when a group of around 1,000 people crowded the San Ysidro port of entry mid-Sunday and some attempted to squeeze through openings in the border wall.
A “few” government vehicles were also damaged. Forty-two people were arrested for illegally entering the U.S., most of whom were adult men.
