Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations near sensitive locations, such as schools, have sparked concerns from immigration advocates, raising questions about potential “chilling effects” on undocumented parents.
During a segment with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, former ICE Director Tom Homan pushed back against these concerns, emphasizing the agency’s focus on enforcing immigration laws and addressing threats to public safety and national security.
Collins highlighted concerns voiced by immigration advocates about ICE’s potential presence near schools.
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“What we had heard from immigration advocates is that this is going to provide a chilling effect to parents in the school drop-off line or something of that matter,” Collins stated.
Homan responded by rejecting the premise that parents should fear ICE operations unless their child poses a direct threat.
“It shouldn’t be a chilling effect unless their child is a terrorist or a public safety threat. If they are public safety threat and national security threat, they should be chilled. They should be afraid because we’re looking for them,” Homan said.
Collins pressed further, referencing illegal alien parents and the broader implications of ICE enforcement.
“Well, if their parent is here and they’re an undocumented immigrant, I think was, was more of the argument that they were making,” Collins added.
Homan reiterated that being in the country illegally is, by itself, a violation of U.S. law and stated that no one should assume certain locations are entirely off-limits for immigration enforcement.
“They’re not off the table either. And then a country illegally, they got a problem. I mean, it’s not okay. Look, it’s not okay to enter this country legally. It’s a crime, and that’s why it’s supposed to be. I wouldn’t feel comfortable if I’m in Switzerland illegally,” he explained.
The former ICE director further emphasized the agency’s commitment to enforcing immigration laws, regardless of the location, when addressing threats to public safety or national security.
“So, you know, the schools and the churches and essential location was a policy only for ICE, only for immigration, right? But national security threats and public safety threats have no safe haven in this country, and we’ll go where we gotta go,” Homan said.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins tries to turn it into a scandal that ICE is entering schools. Tom Homan calmly dismantles her. pic.twitter.com/yWpK5GWlXj
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The debate over ICE operations near sensitive locations remains a contentious issue, with immigration advocates raising concerns about the impact on communities and families, while Homan and others argue that no area should provide sanctuary for individuals who pose a threat to national security or public safety.
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