Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s “border czar”, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he wishes ICE officers didn’t have to wear masks, “but because threats against ICE officers… these men and women have to protect themselves.”

ED O’KEEFE: I want to begin with negotiations over reopening the Department of Homeland Security. They center around some specific policy changes Democrats demand in how immigration agents conduct operations. Among other things, they’d like to require immigration agents to show identification, wear body cameras, take off their masks, stop racial profiling and seek judicial warrants to enter private property. Which, if any of those asks are- is the president, are you willing consider- or willing to consider adopting? TOM HOMAN: Well, I’m not a part of those negotiations. That’s being as being done up on the hill between the Senate and House and the White House. I’m not really part of those negotiations. But look, you know, they want to say, stop racial profiling. That’s just not occurring. I mean, ICE will detain, briefly detain and question, but question somebody based on reasonable suspicion. It has nothing to do with racial profiling. As far as the mask look, you know, I don’t like the masks either, but because threats against ICE officers, you know, are up over 1500% actual assaults and threats are up over 8000%. These men and women have to protect themselves. As far as identifying themselves, they all have placards identifying themselves as ICE, ERO, HSI, DEA, FBI, so they all have placards on them. So I’ll let the White House and members of Congress, you know, fight that out. But I think some of the asks are just- I think they’re unreasonable because there is no racial profiling. There are identifying marks, but masks, you know, why don’t they talk about maybe passing legislation to make it illegal to dox agents or something like that? But the masks right now are for officer safety reasons. ED O’KEEFE: There are federal laws, of course, against injuring, harming, threatening federal authorities, so there is that. And I think one of the things that people get hung up on is the idea that the cop on the street in their neighborhood, a state police officer, other federal agents will identify themselves with their name on their lapel. And yes, their employing agency. But why should these immigration agents be any different and when it comes to the masks as well? You know, cops go out every day, everywhere across the country get threatened in one way or another– but why have to wear all that and protect themselves when there are others out there wearing badges that don’t have to do that? TOM HOMAN: Well, again, they are wearing badges. They’re wearing placards to identify what agency they’re from– ED O’KEEFE: But their name isn’t on it, right? TOM HOMAN: When it comes to masks, I don’t know of another law enforcement agency in the country that has an 8,000% increase in threats. Just yesterday, the director of ICE his wife was filmed walking to work. His home address has been doxed. His kids have been doxed and filmed. So no, I don’t know of another agency in this country that has an 8000% increase. Let’s remember why we’re here, Ed. We’re here because the last four years, over 10 million illegal aliens crossed that border, released in this country unvetted ICE has to do a law enforcement response to deal with the last four years open border, where they claim the border was secure every day and it wasn’t. ED O’KEEFE: What’s so wrong about obtaining a judicial warrant to enter private property? TOM HOMAN: That’s not what the federal law requires. Congress themselves wrote the Immigration Nationality Act that gave power on the administrative warrant to arrest somebody, and that’s what’s set up in federal statutes. So if Congress wants that change, then Congress can legislate. But right now, ICE is acting within the framework of federal statutes enacted by Congress and signed by a president. ED O’KEEFE: Well, as I recall, you have previously said that you thought judicial warrants were necessary for searches. There’s been this change in policy in that now ICE can go with these administrative warrants that are issued by ICE personnel. Why your change of heart? I mean, clearly there- at one point, at least you agreed that was necessary. TOM HOMAN: No, I don’t have a changed heart. What I understand, and I wasn’t part of those discussions, is that DOJ interpret that law saying in certain- in certain circumstances, administrative warrant on somebody has a final order removal already had a due process issued by a [unintelligible] judge that can enter a premises. I’m not a part of that discussion, but that’s the DOJ guidance.

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