Up to date Dec. 5, 2025, 12:13 p.m. MT
The message from Border Czar Tom Homan throughout his Turning Level USA tackle at UTEP was easy: a safe United States-Mexico border saves lives in each international locations.
Homan’s controversial go to to the College of Texas at El Paso Thursday, Dec. 4, got here by the use of an invite from its Turning Level USA chapter.
Over 500 spectators in two lecture halls on campus heard the President Donald Trump appointee recall among the worst circumstances of human trafficking, cartel violence and fentanyl legal circumstances as context for why a hardline on immigration is important.
“I spent most of my profession working trafficking and human smuggling circumstances,” Homan stated. “Throughout that point, I used to be known as to a tractor trailer with a 5-year-old little one (who) had died together with many others being trafficked. In a long time of investigations I’ve accomplished, I’ve seen those that have suffered horrible deaths.”
Homan took goal on the administration of President Joe Biden, contending {that a} nation that sends the message that getting into illegally is not going to be punished breeds rising legal exercise.
The pinnacle of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who served in each Trump and Obama administrations, additionally underscored cartel violence when immigrants fail to pay the charge to get smuggled into america.
When border safety is bolstered, Homan famous, cartel violence towards potential immigrants declines.
“If you wish to enter the best nation on Earth, are available in via a port of entry,” Homan stated. “I do know it is a gradual course of, which is why Congress must step up. Whenever you come into the nation illegally, you are dishonest and reducing in line in entrance of all these attempting to do it legally.”
There have been authorized technique of looking for asylum within the U.S., however they have been shut down following Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
The Biden administration launched the CBP One utility. It prohibited purposes between ports of entry throughout the huge wave of migrants arriving on the border in 2023 to create an orderly course of for asylum requests. The administration additionally launched migrant transit facilities in Guatemala and Colombia, the place potential migrants may apply for work visas, household reunification or asylum.
The Trump administration shut down the CBP One app on Jan. 20 and basically ended looking for asylum on the border. Whereas U.S. immigration regulation permits migrants to plead their circumstances for asylum, the Supreme Court docket is contemplating whether or not the Trump administration can block some individuals from requesting asylum at ports of entry.
At Trump’s request, a bipartisan immigration and border safety invoice was blocked by GOP senators in 2024. It was crafted by James Lankford, R-Oklahoma.
Homan: ‘I do not need anybody to be damage’
In an uncharacteristically candid second, Homan famous he has seen many tough scenes of violence and lack of life. These moments solely served to strengthen his resolve to combat unlawful immigration, so people don’t put themselves in such hazard.
“I do not need anybody to be damage or to die,” Homan stated. “I’ve shed many tears in my time in (regulation enforcement). Immigration enforcement has at all times been controversial and has at all times been emotional. That does not imply you do not do it and we have to know who’s coming.”
Migration has turn into extra harmful within the final decade, with migrants paying increased prices to human smugglers who take them on extra dangerous routes because of the militarization of the border. The El Paso sector, which incorporates El Paso and Hudspeth counties and extends to the New Mexico border with Arizona, turned one of the harmful stretches of desert for migrants, with 176 deaths being reported within the area in fiscal 12 months 2024.
In much more private admissions, he famous quite a few dying threats towards him prompted extra measures to guard his spouse.
When confronted with the overly aggressive actions of some ICE brokers throughout the nation, Homan defined that brokers are additionally dad and mom merely defending their nation and that it’s tough to know why power had for use with no correct investigation.
Viewers questions requested about considerations on the constitutionality of strikes by the Trump administration in claims of the denial of due course of, whether or not the border Czar can really maintain ICE brokers accountable for questionable actions and profiling in Hispanic communities.
“The Supreme Court docket has dominated you’ll be able to detain and query someone on affordable suspicion,” Homan stated. “If an ICE agent acts exterior of coverage, we’ll maintain them accountable. If U.S. residents have been detained, it is as a result of there was some affordable suspicion. We have now to do not forget that U.S. residents are detained by regulation enforcement on this nation daily.”
He supplied serving an arrest warrant at a personal residence for example the place everybody on the scene is detained, reasonably than solely the person who’s the topic of the warrant.
However U.S. regulation prohibits immigration brokers from detaining residents. A ProPublica investigation discovered that over 170 U.S. residents have been detained by ICE throughout immigration raids or at protests.
El Pasoans pontificate on Homan speech
Amin Favela, an El Paso resident, was not stunned by the sturdy reward for President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“Nothing actually stunned me right this moment,” Favela stated. “It was about regulation and order primarily. It is good that UTEP can convey individuals with totally different views from totally different backgrounds. It is freedom of speech as a result of that is America.”
George Mead, an East El Paso resident, echoed the sentiment that Homan stayed on message throughout his speech.
“This was mainly the identical in different speeches I’ve seen from him. In talking with others in El Paso, I can see there’s assist for what Tom Homan and President Trump are doing. I agree with it since I am an immigrant that got here right here legally,” Mead stated.
As one of many estimated 100 college students of the UTEP Turning Level USA Chapter, junior Bella Acuña famous El Paso will be ignored and Homan’s go to may start to reverse that.
“UTEP tends to get underrepresented and it is nice we will be placed on the map, after we can welcome somebody from the White Home,” Acuña stated. “I used to be stunned that the turnout included a lot of conservative voters given El Paso is taken into account largely Democrat.”
UTEP college students lead protests towards Homan
UTEP scholar teams led a protest down the road from the Undergraduate Studying Middle, the place Homan spoke. Round 100 individuals, together with college students, group activists of all ages and anxious residents, joined the protest.
The protest started forward of Homan’s speech, as helicopters and at the very least one drone flew overhead. There was a heavy presence of Texas Division of Public Security brokers and police monitoring the protest. Protesters spoke out via a megaphone, condemning the border czar’s go to and lamenting that the college had allowed him to talk.
“It’s upsetting, particularly given what is occurring on this nation,” stated Jesse Moreno, vice-president of UTEP School Democrats.
Protesters condemned the immigration raids which have occurred underneath the Trump administration and plenty of raised considerations concerning the allegations that Homan had obtained a $50,000 bribe.
In September 2024, Homan was reportedly recorded accepting a bag containing $50,000 in money from undercover FBI brokers posing as enterprise executives. The FBI was investigating allegations that Homan was accepting bribes from border safety firms in alternate for the promise of presidency contracts if Trump received the 2024 election.
In September 2025, the Division of Justice closed the investigation, citing inadequate proof. Homan has repeatedly denied the accusations.
Whereas there have been moments of pressure between protesters and attendees of Homan’s speech, the protests have been largely peaceable.
At the very least one protester was briefly detained by UTEP campus police earlier than being launched after being recognized.
Kristian Jaime is the Prime Story Reporter for the El Paso Occasions and is reachable at Kjaime@elpasotimes.com.
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