Former acting Director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Tom Homan on Friday recounted graphic scenes from his career, including migrants found dead in a tractor-trailer, to defend former President Donald Trump's immigration agenda. Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., Homan pushed back against accusations that Trump's policies were inhumane, asserting instead that secure borders save lives.
Homan described witnessing horrific incidents, including one instance where he said he "stood in the back of a tractor-trailer with 19 dead people at my feet." He detailed that the victims, found in their underwear, had died from extreme heat inside the sealed trailer, stating, "They all baked to death." He also recounted speaking with young girls as young as nine years old who had been raped by cartel members during their journey to the U.S. border.
"I want to talk about why I’m pissed off this morning," Homan told the audience, criticizing media coverage that he believes falsely portrays Trump's immigration policies as cruel. He argued that the opposite is true: lax border enforcement enables cartels and smugglers to exploit, assault, and kill migrants. "What President Trump is doing is saving lives," Homan stated.
Homan championed Trump's administration, claiming it delivered "the most secure border in the history of this nation." He framed the administration's immigration enforcement actions as a moral imperative aimed at reducing deaths, human trafficking, and cartel exploitation. "Secure borders save lives. Secure borders protect our national security. No one’s done it better than President Trump. And we ain’t finished yet," he concluded.
His remarks come amid ongoing criticism from Democrats and immigrant-rights advocates regarding the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts and its attempts to reverse policies implemented during the Biden administration. Homan positioned these measures as necessary for national security and for preventing migrants from falling victim to criminal organizations.