Tom Homan, the 'Border Czar' in the Donald Trump administration, is on his way to Minnesota to oversee the operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the state, Trump announced Monday.
Protests against the ongoing immigration raids in Minnesota cities escalated after the death of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in fatal shootings involving ICE agents. Tom Homan's presence in Minnesota, the second top federal officer there after Pam Bondi, is going to further intensify the situation.
But with Homan now taking the centerstage amid the tensions in Minnesota, his career as an immigration enforcer has come into focus. Notably, Homan served in the ICE under President Barack Obama as well from 2013 till his term ended in 2017.
With Homan at the center of the dispute between the GOP and Democrats over the federal immigration operations in Minnesota, an award Obama gave to Homan has become a major topic of discussion.
What Award Did Obama Give To Tom Homan?
Homan was appointed in 2013 as Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
{{/usCountry}}Homan was appointed in 2013 as Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
{{/usCountry}}He oversaw deportations and enforcement at the agency under Obama. Homan was awarded the 2015 Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service by Obama.
The medal is one of the highest honors for US federal civil servants, given by the President to career executives who demonstrate extraordinary performance. Giving Homan the award, officials noted his role in managing large-scale immigration enforcement efforts, including record deportations.
Homan had said that he was “extremely humbled by this award.” "I am extremely humbled by this award but I must say that it is the hard work and dedication of the men and women of ERO who deserve the recognition,” he had said.
Kristi Noem ‘Welcomes’ Homan
On Monday, CNN reported that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents are "relieved" with the arrival of Toman Homan in Minnesota amid reports of a possible "feud" with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. But Noem herself reacted to the reports saying she "welcomes" Homan's arrival.
“I have worked closely with Tom over the last year and he has been a major asset to our team— his experience and insight will help us in our wide-scale fraud investigations, which have robbed Americans, and will help us to remove even more public safety threats and violent criminal illegal aliens off the of streets of Minneapolis,” Noem said.