‘There’s going to be a warning coming out’ that will give illegal immigrants ’the right to self-deport,’ Tom Homan said.
The Trump administration will issue a program to allow illegal immigrants in the United States to self-deport, border czar Tom Homan has said in a new interview.
“If you get deported from this country, formally deported, there’s a bar placed on you from five to 20 years, depending on your case, and you can’t come back under any circumstance, even if you have a U.S. citizen child,” Homan said.
He said that if “they report to ICE before they self-deport or stop at a port of entry, we’ll give them credit for it,” while suggesting that self-deportation is likely the best possible outcome for an illegal immigrant.
The notice said the protections were contrary to U.S. interests and no longer justified by conditions in Venezuela. TPS status is available to people whose home countries have experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict, or other extraordinary event.
Last week, DHS canceled an 18-month extension of temporary protections for Venezuelans under the previous administration. On Monday, DHS stopped Venezeuelans’ status from automatically renewing for six months.
Also on Monday, DHS said in the Federal Register notice that while some adverse conditions exist in Venezuela, there have been “notable improvements in several areas such as the economy, public health, and crime that allow for these nationals to be safely returned to their home country.”
Aside from the decisions on deportations, Trump also signed orders declaring a national emergency and an invasion at the U.S.–Mexico border. Before Trump returned to the White House, about 2,500 National Guard and Reserve forces were consistently deployed to the border, and an additional 1,100 Army soldiers and 500 Marines were sent to the border after he took over.
Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also came to an agreement this week that Mexico would deploy 10,000 of its National Guard members to the border in return for a pause on 25 percent tariffs on Mexican goods entering the United States. On Tuesday, the first of those forces arrived in border cities, Mexican officials said. Guard members in the Wednesday patrol confirmed that they were part of the new force.
“There will be permanent surveillance on the border,” José Luis Santos Iza, one of the National Guard leaders heading off the deployment in the city, told media upon the arrival of the first set of soldiers.
“This operation is primarily to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, mainly fentanyl.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
