Border czar Tom Homan late Thursday defended the White House’s immigration agenda amid a pair of escalating legal fights over the president’s deportation efforts, saying “I don’t think we did anything wrong.”
Homan in an interview on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” maintained his view that the administration acted correctly in deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia and also denied that the White House ignored an earlier judge’s order to halt deportation flights.
“[Abrego Garcia is] an El Salvadorian national, he was born in El Salvador, El Salvador has him in custody and El Salvador will decide what will happen to him. I mean, again, the El Salvadoran president made it clear he’s not going to release him,” Homan said.
A federal judge scolded the administration earlier in the week for not providing evidence of efforts to facilitate the release of Abrego Garcia following a Supreme Court order. The U.S. District Court judge said Abrego Garcia was apprehended “without legal basis” and deported “without further process or legal justification.” A previous order prevented his deportation to El Salvador due to concerns about his safety.
Homan in the interview Thursday night also denied that the administration skirted a different federal judge’s ruling halting deportation flights for individuals the White House alleges are members of a Venezuelan gang.
U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg has moved to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for disobeying his order to immediately halt the deportation flights, which the president previously attempted to authorize by invoking the Alien Enemies Act.
“I think we followed the judge’s order. I think we’ll let that litigate in court. You know, [the Department of Justice] is fighting that in court. But I don’t think we did anything wrong,” Homan told Collins.
“I think the information shows those planes were already near international waters, as far as I know. So, I don’t think we did anything wrong,” Homan said, arguing that based on what the judge included in his written order “I think we did everything by the numbers.”
The Trump administration has argued it didn’t have to adhere to Boasberg’s oral order directing planes to turn around, but said the written order was followed.
Homan has previously garnered attention for brushing off court opinions over the administration’s deportation efforts.
“I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care,” he said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Fox and Friends” in mid-March, arguing the president’s actions have made the country “safer.”
