Mack Liederman/Block Club ChicagoAt an event hosted by Chicago Republicans, Tom Homan also said he would prosecute Mayor Brandon Johnson if he continued to “harbor and conceal” asylum seekers.
This story was originally published in Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit newsroom focused on Chicago’s neighborhoods. Sign up for its free daily newsletter.
PORTAGE PARK — President-elect Donald Trump’s hand-picked “border czar” said his mass deportation efforts will “start right here in Chicago” as he threatened local officials to open the city and its county jail to the will of federal immigration agents.
Tom Homan — the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — addressed a friendly crowd of local Republicans Monday night at a Christmas party run by the Law & Order PAC at Biagio Events and Catering, 4242 N. Central Ave.
Homan told attendees they’d see an influx of federal immigrant agents after Trump is sworn in, warning he would prosecute Mayor Brandon Johnson if he continued to “harbor and conceal” asylum seekers.
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“Do not impede us,” Homan said after taking to the “Trump-Vance 2024”-flanked podium to a DJ remix of “Bad To The Bone.” One person shouted “F— him,” about Johnson, as the crowd erupted in support.
“Because of his actions, we’re going to be arresting a hell of a lot more people than our priorities,” said Homan, telling Johnson and other Democratic officials to “get the hell out of the way.” He added that he’d sue sanctuary cities that don’t cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
But Homan sidestepped questions about how he would coordinate with Chicago law enforcement or dismantle local legal barriers to mass deportations.
Currently, the city and state have many protections in place to guard against federal deportation efforts. ICE agents aren’t granted access to undocumented detainees inside Cook County Jail and Cook County officials are not required to notify federal authorities when undocumented detainees are in local custody. Illinois state law also prohibits renting jail beds to ICE.
Yet Homan remained committed to a heavy-handed crackdown on immigration in Chicago, saying he’d start with “the bad guys” who commit crimes and then “the others” around them. Immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens, research shows.
“I don’t want to talk to victims. I want to talk to the guys they locked up,” said Homan, who will replace Vice President Kamala Harris in the loosely defined role without inherent power.
Trump has voiced his full support of Homan — who is not subject to Senate approval — to find ways to execute the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
This is not Homan’s first time around.
He was acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2017 to June 2018 and is known as an architect of the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy that separated more than 5,500 immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to NPR.
As of April, there were 1,401 children still “without confirmed reunification” with their parents, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security.
Homan left the position in 2018 under political and public pressure, but has since contributed to the Project 2025 initiative, a controversial conservative playbook to reshape the country under Trump, authored by some now selected for major roles in his second presidency.
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The tough-talking Homan has gone on a conservative media blitz since getting the nod from Trump, taking aim at sanctuary cities and its Democratic leaders. Last month, Homan said he’d be willing to put Denver Mayor Mike Johnston “in jail” for shielding migrants from federal forces.
Johnson’s office did not return Block Club’s request for comment, but in a press conference last month the mayor reasserted a commitment to Chicago’s sanctuary city status.
“We will not bend or break,” Johnson said. “Our values will remain strong and firm. We will face likely hurdles in our work over the next four years, but we will not be stopped and we will not go back.”
The city has struggled to accommodate over 50,000 arrivals since Republican governors began busing migrants to Democratic-led sanctuary cities in 2022, with local officials standing up as many as 28 temporary shelters that have been criticized for subpar conditions and limits on stays.
The shelters have been steadily closing since President Joe Biden capped daily border crossings. A Republican promise to send more migrant buses to Chicago ahead of the Democratic National Convention last summer didn’t materialize.
Trump now says he would use the military and declare a national emergency to enforce mass deportations, but on Monday Homan tried to assure the crowd there wouldn’t be “army tanks” or “sweeps” in Chicago neighborhoods.
“It’s a very targeted operation,” Homan said. “We know exactly what we’re looking for, and they’ll be arrested.”
It’s unclear how much the Chicago Police Department may already be informally assisting ICE, which has a Chicago outpost. Homan thanked a large presence of local police in the crowd Monday night.
It was quiet outside the Portage Park banquet hall, which was patrolled by a private security company. Homan didn’t stay long after his remarks and was driven off with a police escort.
Those sticking around to hobnob to Christmas tunes and gift MAGA hats included Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th), former Ald. Bob Fioretti and other local conservatives.
The event was in Sposato’s Far Northwest Side ward, where Trump won over 40 percent of the vote and the neighboring 41st Ward outright, the first time for a Republican presidential candidate since 1992.
“It’s our time to take back our city,” said Chuck Hernandez, chair of the Chicago Republican Party.
Homan said he met some Democratic alderpeople Monday who are on the same page as him regarding deportations.
“[They] think we need to be doing the right thing,” he said.
The political action committee behind the event has contributed to Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st), according to public records.
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) posted a photo with Homan on social media.
“Great meeting incoming Border Czar,” Lopez wrote on X. “We must enforce the laws, starting with removing those committing dangerous, violent crimes with impunity because they have asylum protections.”
Other local Democratic officials have been openly critical of Homan since he was announced as border czar.
“The Trump Administration’s goal is to inflict maximum damage on diverse American families, our children, and our communities,” Congresswoman Delia Ramirez said in a statement last month. “To that end, it is no surprise Trump wants Tom Homan at the helm. But let it be known, I will fight like hell to keep our families together, and our communities are ready to be an obstacle at every turn as he tries to implement his cruel, vile, gruesome plan.”
One Democratic mayor was spared Homan’s criticism: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who scheduled a meeting Thursday with Homan to discuss deportation plans.
“I think he [Adams] understands his number one responsibility is the safety and security of the community,” Homan said.
Adams is under federal indictment for bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals for allegedly embracing perks from the Turkish government — charges he claims are politically motivated because of his criticism of Biden’s immigrations policies.
Trump takes the oath of office Jan. 20.
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