Ex-Trump ICE chief: 'Families can be deported together'

Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Thomas Homan said that “families can be deported” together as a solution to separating families when carrying out mass deportation.

In a "60 Minutes" interview Sunday night, Homan, who was ICE director for a part of former President Trump’s administration, spoke on the GOP candidate’s pledge to implement mass deportations.

When journalist Cecilia Vega asked, “Is there a way to carry out mass deportation without separating families?” Homan responded: “Of course there is. Families can be deported together.”

Homan led ICE from January 2017 to June 2018, overseeing the early stages of the Trump administration’s controversial family separation policy, under which migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without permission were criminally charged or referred for prosecution. More than 5,000 migrant children were forcibly separated from their families during this time.

In March 2023, Homan defended the policy, arguing he was growing tired of the attacks over family separations. He said families “chose to separate themselves” by violating the law and entering the country with a child.

Homan declined knowing about a family separation policy in a potential 2024 Trump administration, although he said it should be considered.

Immigration is a top issue for Trump and the GOP this cycle, with criticisms of the Biden-Harris “border crisis” becoming a keystone of Republican campaigns.