Tom Homan Admits to Mistakes in Minneapolis: ‘I Do Not Want to Hear That Everything That Has Been Done Here Has Been Perfect’

Border czar Tom Homan admitted that mistakes had been made by federal authorities in Minneapolis, and pledged that moving forward, ICE would be carrying out targeted operations in the city during a Thursday morning press conference.

Homan, who has been dispatched to Minnesota by President Donald Trump to tighten up his administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in the wake of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, said the following on Thursday:

In my meetings with Governor Walz, AG Ellison, and Mayor Frey, as well as state and local law enforcement — again, I appreciate they all acknowledge that we do have federal immigration laws in this country that have been passed by Congress, and that ICE is in fact a legitimate law enforcement agency charged with enforcing those laws. We’re not making this up, folks. ICE is enforcing laws enacted by Congress. They’re in federal statute.

That said, I’m not here because the federal government has carried its mission out perfectly. The first thing I said to senior staff when I walked in here is what I told you earlier. I didn’t come here looking for photo ops or headlines, I come here looking for solutions. I do not want to hear that everything that has been done here has been perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect, anything can be improved on, and what we’ve been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient, by the book. The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making internally.

No agency or organization is perfect., and President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made. That’s exactly what I’m doing here. As such, in meetings I’ve had with federal law enforcement managers, including ICE and CBP and other federal partners, as well as state and local officials, I have conveyed the president’s expectations with regard to federal immigration enforcement efforts. We will conduct targeted enforcement operations — targeted, what we’ve done for decades. When we hit the streets we know exactly who we’re looking for, good idea where we may find them, you have a criminal history, you have their immigration history, a lot of information about this person that we get from numerous databases out there. Targeted, strategic, enforcement operations. That’s traditionally been the case, and that’s where we’re going. That’s what we’re gonna continue to do and improve upon that. With a prioritization on public safety threats.

I want to be clear, I don’t read a lot of social media, I don’t read a lot of media because I don’t believe half of what I see. We are not surrendering the president’s mission on immigration enforcement. Let’s make that clear. Prioritization of criminal amnesty doesn’t mean we forget about everybody else. That’s just simply ridiculous. But when you have a criminal standing here and a non-criminal standing there, that criminal always should be targeted first, because he’s a significant concern to the safety and security of the community. By and large for decades, ICE and CBP have carried out their duties with integrity, professionals and compassion. That remains the expectation of President Trump. and we will, I will, hold our agents and officers to that standard.

Watch above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!