President Donald Trump (center) holds a law enforcement roundtable on sanctuary cities in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump was also joined by Attorney General Jeff Sessions (left) and Homeland Security Secretary Kirsten Nielsen. , Thomas Homan, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Kevin Dietch | Getty Images
The person President-elect Donald Trump chooses to run his massive deportation program has more power than some Cabinet members and could operate with less oversight from Congress.
That’s because the appointee, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tom Homan, will not be appointed to directly head the Department of Homeland Security or any of its subordinate agencies tasked with dealing with immigration issues.
Instead, Homan will become the Trump administration’s “border czar,” a title that could give him significant influence over immigration and border policy without the formal authority or guardrails that come with a Cabinet position.
President Trump announced Homan’s selection in a post Sunday night. society of truth It established a platform and put immigration hardliners “in charge of our nation’s borders.”
Homan will also be “in charge of all deportations of illegal aliens to their countries of origin,” Trump posted.
Unlike Cabinet nominees and about 1,200 other federal roles that require Senate confirmation, Homan will not need Congressional approval to take office under the Trump administration. And he could be insulated from other forms of legislative oversight, experts told CNBC.
“White House appointees are subject to less oversight than Cabinet and lower-ranking officials,” said Katherine Hawkins, senior legal analyst at the Government Oversight Project.
“It is much more difficult for Congress to enforce subpoenas against White House officials, who refuse to testify on grounds of executive privilege, and whose refusal is likely to be upheld in court,” Hawkins said. he said.
These officials may not be formally authorized by Congress, but that does not necessarily mean they are subordinate to Senate-confirmed officials.
“In practice, who is actually more powerful depends on things like access to the president and whether Cabinet and other government officials deny White House demands,” Hawkins said. Ta.
A spokesperson for President Trump’s transition office declined CNBC’s request for comment.
Lee Geraint, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who has helped challenge immigration policies in the Trump and Biden administrations, agrees.
Homan’s lack of a government position “doesn’t make him any less influential, but it could make it harder to have meaningful checks on his actions,” he said.
Faisal al-Jubouri, chief foreign affairs officer for the immigrant rights group RAICES, said the emperor “has simultaneously obstructed Congressional oversight, which is critical to ensuring accountability for those acting on behalf of the U.S. government. “It can have a major policy impact,” he said.
Al-Jubouri said these posts “create an opacity that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to determine who maintains authority over policies that could have far-reaching implications for the American people.” It’s creating a situation.”
take the lead and charge
Taken at face value, Trump’s post gives Homan enormous power.
When the new administration takes office on January 20, 2025, Mr. Homan will be in charge of carrying out the deportation of millions of illegal immigrants, a central promise of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.
Homan’s authority “includes, but is not limited to, the southern border, the northern border, and all maritime and air security,” Trump wrote.
Implementing a mass deportation plan poses unprecedented logistical challenges and requires complex and extensive cooperation among federal agencies, local law enforcement, host countries, and other parties. The process of locating, detaining and removing so many people, including mixed-status families with children, would be difficult and the cost astronomical, NBC News reported.
Homan, 62, is one of the policy’s most vocal supporters. A regular on Fox News and a speaker at the 2024 Republican National Convention, he reportedly vowed earlier this year to “run the largest deportation force this country has ever seen.” .
Homan has been called the father of the Trump administration’s highly controversial “zero tolerance” border policy. The policy led to the separation of thousands of immigrant families and was repealed by President Trump in 2018.
Asked in a recent interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” whether mass deportations could occur without separating families, Homan said, “Of course it is.” It’s possible.”
Gellert said he expected the appointment to have “far-reaching anti-asylum, anti-immigrant implications” given Homan’s actions during the first Trump administration and subsequent statements.
It’s unclear how Homan can wield his powers. John Harrison, a law professor at the University of Virginia, told Congress in 2009 that it is “very questionable whether any member of the White House staff, sometimes referred to as the Emperor, can actually exercise legal authority.” .
But Harrison said in an interview with CNBC on Monday that “as a practical matter,” those staffers could still wield significant influence over policy decisions.
Hawkins singled out Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior policy aide, who he said was “probably the single most influential policy voice on immigration and border issues” during the Republican’s first White House term.
“Department of Homeland Security officials pushed back to some extent, but Mr. Miller stayed the longest, was closest to Mr. Trump, and usually got his way,” she said.
NBC reported Monday that Miller is expected to be named Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy.
