The Trump administration, via Tom Homan, is intensifying its war on sanctuary cities nationwide. Former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homan, just made big news with thrilling plans. He wants to dramatically increase the number of ICE agents working in these jurisdictions. This comprehensive and collaborative initiative is a direct response to the unprecedented violent crisis. These events have prompted a national outcry over public safety and the efficacy of sanctuary policies.
Homan’s remark was a pretty ambitious statement of purpose. Specifically, he wants to “flood the zone” with ICE agents in cities that decide they will not cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement. Sanctuary cities are jurisdictions with long-standing policies in place to curtail cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Not surprisingly, they have come under further scrutiny for their contributions to the growing public safety crisis. The administration’s renewed focus comes after a Customs and Border Protection officer was shot in New York City, an incident that has been linked to the city’s sanctuary policies.
Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota has quickly made herself one of the fiercest defenders of this nationwide crackdown. She has painted sanctuary cities as “sanctuaries for criminals,” focusing on individual cases to strengthen her point. In doing so, she paid tribute to Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez. He’d been detained four times this year alone since first crossing into the US illegally in 2023. Noem went on to denounce policies taken by New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams. In response, she claimed that these policies were releasing violent criminals such as Nunez back onto the streets, putting community members’ safety at risk.
“There’s absolutely zero reason that someone who is scum of the earth like this should be running loose on the streets of New York City.” – Kristi Noem
Noem’s comments reflect broader frustrations within the Trump administration regarding the perceived failures of local leaders to maintain public safety. Sanctuary policies, the governor continued, allow the worst repeat offenders of immigration law to get away with it.
Alongside Nunez’s prevailing case, Noem spotlighted the case of Christhian Aybar-Berroa. The facts Aybar-Berroa illegally entered the United States in 2022, while under the Biden administration, and lost his final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2023. This now raises more difficult and complicated questions as to whether these policies actually serve to protect public safety. It undermines their interest in promoting collaboration with federal immigration enforcement.
Fearmongering around sanctuary cities reached new heights after the shooting death of a law enforcement officer. Noem made a direct connection between the tragic case at hand and the policies driving local leaders. She remarked,
“Make no mistake, this officer is in the hospital today, fighting for his life, because of the policies of the mayor of the city and the city council and the people that were in charge of keeping the public safe; they refused to do so.” – Kristi Noem
No wonder then that Homan has made this argument, claiming that all sanctuary cities are automatically dangerous. What it means He promised that the Trump administration will not look the other way on what he has characterized as a dereliction of duty to protect citizens.
“Every sanctuary city is unsafe. Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals and President Trump’s not going to tolerate it.” – Tom Homan
The Trump administration’s initiative occurs against a backdrop of toxic fights over immigration policy in the United States. In fact, just last year, Homan threatened mayors with lawsuits for interfering with ICE’s operations. This underscores his lack of respect for local governments that refuse to comply with harmful federal immigration enforcement policies.
In defending the statistics whitewashing the arrests by ICE, Homan admitted that out of 130,000 arrests, about 90,000 were criminals. This one statistic provides evidence for his assertion that the majority of those arrested are criminals.
“The numbers I looked at [are] 130,000 arrests and 90,000 criminals. Do the math. That’s 70%. Others are those who have final orders, who had due process at great taxpayer expense. A federal judge ordered them removed. ICE’s job is to remove them.” – Tom Homan
Already, Governor Noem has signaled that sanctuary cities can expect increased scrutiny. She stated that, in support of this mission, ICE will direct additional resources to increase enforcement efforts in these communities. She stated that communities will see “more agents in the community and more agents in the worksite,” which she believes is necessary for public safety.
“If we can’t arrest that bad guy in the safety and security of the county jail, we’ll arrest him in the community. And when we arrest him in the community, if he’s with others that are in the country illegally, they are coming too.” – Kristi Noem
As this initiative goes forward, almost everyone watching expects fierce opposition. We can expect local leaders and advocacy groups who favor sanctuary city policies to be up in arms. These organizations maintain that these types of measures erode community trust and safety by projecting fear into the hearts of residents.
The Trump administration’s renewed war on these sanctuary cities marks the broadest and most aggressive use of the administration’s immigration enforcement strategy to date. Even as cities such as New York re-think these policies, the national debate over immigration is still severely polarized.