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Phoenix — In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, conceded “things weren’t perfect” during the large-scale immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis but stressed that the administration is not backing down from its mass deportation effort.
“Things weren’t perfect. We addressed it. We fixed it,” Homan said when asked if he believes the administration made mistakes and went too far during the Minneapolis-area crackdown, known as Operation Metro Surge.
Homan said he has discussed changes and ways to improve immigration enforcement with Homeland Security Secretary Marwayne Mullin and Todd Lyons, the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who is set to leave the agency later this month.
“I’ve had the discussions with Secretary Markwayne Mullin. He agrees. We can have mass deportations, but do it in a smarter way, which we’re doing,” Homan added during an interview in Phoenix on Tuesday during the annual Border Security Expo.
Earlier this year, Mr. Trump charged Homan with winding down the Minneapolis operation after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents sparked intense, bipartisan backlash.
Asked whether he believes that the ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents involved in Pretti and Good’s killings should face consequences if any wrongdoing is found, including termination, Homan said, “Yes.”
“If they violated the law, they’ve got to be held responsible,” Homan added. “When they violate policy, you’ve got to be held responsible.”
Homan said he did not want to comment further, since the government investigations into the fatal shootings remain ongoing.
A “smarter approach” to ICE arrests
Homan said the reason the public is now seeing fewer viral videos of ICE agents making arrests is because the agency has prioritized “targeted” operations focused on arresting people who have criminal records, in addition to being in the country illegally.
He noted that, since the Minneapolis operation was scaled back, Border Patrol agents have not been making seemingly random immigration stops at parking lots and public places.
Still, Homan said immigration agents will continue arresting people they find during operations if they are in the country illegally, even if they lack criminal histories and were not the original targets.
“If they’re in the country illegally, they’re not off the table,” Homan said.
In a recent interview, retired Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who led the more sweeping, controversial immigration sweeps in Minneapolis and other major cities, criticized the Trump administration’s “softer approach.” Bovino was relieved of his command following Pretti’s killing and retired from Border Patrol in March.
Homan said he did not agree with Bovino’s characterization of the shift in emphasis, calling it a “smarter approach.”
Bovino also suggested during that recent interview that the Trump administration is backing down from its mass deportation promise. Homan denied that.
“He’s wrong. He’s wrong,” he said. “Numbers prove it. Look at the numbers. Look at the numbers of arrests and removals in the past year, and you give me one year we’ve done more. Never.”
Homan said ICE and CBP have collectively carried out roughly 800,000 deportations since Mr. Trump returned to the White House.
Asked if the American public should expect large-scale, aggressive immigration crackdowns similar to the Minneapolis campaign, Homan said, “No.”
But he said “mass operations” would continue, especially in cities with so-called sanctuary policies that limit local cooperation with ICE.
“We had a historic illegal immigration crisis for four years,” Homan said. “So what’s required now? A historic mass deportation.”
