Tom Homan is a ghost, who is awarded the title “Border Tsar”. This 62-year-old will lead the agency responsible for border and immigration control (ICE), as he already did under the previous Trump presidency, between 2017 and 2021.
The former police officer then oversaw a policy that was as brief as it was controversial, leading to the separation of 4,000 migrant children from their parents in detention.
Donald Trump has in the past praised the “very nasty look” of this immigration specialist, who also worked under the administration of Barack Obama.
“No one will be protected by the next administration,” Tom Homan warned in July. “If you’re here illegally, you better watch your back.”
Trump appoints relative to environmental protection
In the name of the “American dream”
He will have to work with Kristi Noem, chosen to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Aged 52, the governor of South Dakota hit the headlines this year by cheerfully boasting of having killed one of her dogs that she considered indomitable. A confession which had destroyed her claims to become Donald Trump’s vice-president.
Rising star of the American right, Kristi Noem has nevertheless carved out a reputation for sending members of her state’s National Guard to the border with Mexico – even if South Dakota, in the north of the country, is located thousands of kilometers.
“We will secure the border and restore security (…) so that families once again have the opportunity to pursue the American dream,” promised the Republican.
At the White House, this policy will be orchestrated by Stephen Miller, appointed deputy director of the presidential office, a role with very broad prerogatives.
The 39-year-old was one of the most notable faces of the last Trump administration.
He is remembered as the architect of the famous “Muslim Ban” project, this decree taken in 2017 to ban nationals from seven Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan. , Syria and Yemen.
“Border Tsar”, participation in Project 2025…: who is Tom Homan, the new head of immigration appointed by Trump
“Not realistic” promise
Stephen Miller is a staunch radical: his family may have fled anti-Jewish pogroms in Eastern Europe during the first half of the 20th century, but that did not stop him from supporting the idea of stopping the reception of political refugees in the United States, according to the American press.
“America is for Americans and only for Americans,” he said during Donald Trump’s meeting at Madison Square Garden, a legendary venue in New York which notably hosted a pro-Nazi rally in 1939.
This trio of proactive leaders will, however, have their work cut out for them.
“According to our estimates, it would take more than a decade to deport 13 million people”, the estimated number of illegal immigrants in the United States, reminds AFP Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an expert from American Immigration. Council.
Such a project would require tens of thousands of new employees to work in hundreds of detention centers to be built, and in the country’s specialized courts, he adds.
“This assumes that Congress funds the government to the tune of nearly a trillion dollars to carry out these mass evictions,” he emphasizes.
Donald Trump’s promise – which falsely inflates the figures by regularly mentioning more than 20 million illegal immigrants – is, according to him, “not realistic”. He could therefore opt for a few targeted and high-profile measures. It remains to be seen which ones.
