White House border czar Tom Homan erupted at critics of President Donald Trump\u2019s immigration agenda Friday, recalling horrific scenes from his decades in border enforcement \u2014 including migrants he said were \u201cbaked to death\u201d in a tractor-trailer \u2014 as he argued that secure borders save lives.
\nHoman used the graphic stories during remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition\u2019s Road to Majority Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., to push back on critics who have accused the Trump administration of being inhumane, arguing instead that tougher border enforcement saves lives by deterring migrants from making dangerous journeys controlled by cartels.
\n\u201cI want to talk about why I\u2019m pissed off this morning,\u201d Homan told the crowd, arguing that media coverage has falsely portrayed Trump\u2019s immigration policies as cruel or inhumane.
\nBORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SLAMS CATHOLIC CHURCH, SAYS \u2018SECURE BORDER SAVES LIVES\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing further from the truth,\u201d Homan said. Rather, the border czar said critics have it backward, arguing that lax border enforcement creates the conditions for migrants to be exploited, assaulted or killed by smugglers and cartels. \u201cWhat President Trump is doing is saving lives,\u201d Homan told the crowd.
\nHe then described one of the most graphic scenes he said he witnessed during his career in border enforcement.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve stood in the back of a tractor-trailer with 19 dead people at my feet,\u201d Homan told the crowd at the Washington Hilton Friday morning, adding that the victims included a young boy and that they were found in their underwear while trying to escape extreme heat in the back of the truck.
\n\u201cThey all baked to death,\u201d Homan said. \u201cI got to that crime scene. They\u2019re all in underwear, trying to get some relief from the 170 degree heat in the back of a steel truck with no air. Think of the way these people died.\u201d
\nTRUMP BORDER CZAR HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR SELENA GOMEZ: \u2018WHERE\u2019S THE TEARS\u2019 FOR SEX TRAFFICKED CHILDREN?<\/p>\n
Homan also said he has spoken with young girls who were raped by cartel members while making the journey to the U.S. border.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve gotten on my knees to talk to little girls as young as 9 that were raped multiple times by members of a cartel,\u201d Homan said.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what happens when you have an unsecured border,\u201d he added. \u201cWell, guess what? There\u2019s no little 9-year-old girl right now that everybody\u2019s getting on their knees and talking to. President Trump has closed the border down.\u201d
\nHoman repeatedly defended Trump personally and politically, saying the president has delivered the \u201cmost secure border in the history of this nation\u201d and arguing that the administration\u2019s immigration crackdown is aimed at preventing more deaths, trafficking and cartel exploitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecure borders save lives,\u201d Homan said near the end of his remarks. \u201cSecure borders protect our national security. No one\u2019s done it better than President Trump. And we ain\u2019t finished yet.\u201d
\nThe remarks came as the Trump administration continues to face criticism from Democrats and immigrant-rights advocates over its mass deportation push, expanded immigration enforcement and efforts to reverse Biden-era border policies. Homan, however, framed the crackdown as a moral necessity, saying the administration is making the country safer while reducing incentives for migrants to place themselves in the hands of criminal cartels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"