White House border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday rejected an MSNBC host's assertion that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were "disappearing" people during enforcement operations, calling the claim "ridiculous" and defending recent workplace raids as planned, targeted activity.
On MSNBC's Morning Joe, host Mika Brzezinski pressed Homan for data after she said people had been "disappeared" during ICE operations and asked for transparency about their whereabouts. Homan countered that ICE is conducting the same type of enforcement it has for decades, saying agents arrest people who are in the country illegally and deemed public-safety threats and that each arrest is supported by a case file.
Homan told Brzezinski that comments suggesting people were being "disappeared" put ICE personnel and their families at risk. He challenged calls for broader scrutiny by urging critics to press Congress to change immigration laws if they object to current enforcement, saying, "If you don’t like what ICE is doing, then go protest Congress."
During the exchange, Brzezinski sought the data Homan cited, including a statistic that he and the Trump administration have highlighted — that roughly 70% of immigrants targeted in some operations had criminal records. That figure was referenced in a Trump administration August press release. Reporting by The Associated Press in July 2025, however, found that a majority of people detained in some recent operations did not have criminal records, a discrepancy that Brzezinski pointed to in asking for transparency.
Homan, a longtime immigration official, also criticized the Biden administration's approach and referenced the tenure of former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He said the current operations mirror work done when he began his career in the 1980s and asserted that agents are carrying out laws enacted by Congress.
The interview followed a high-profile ICE operation last week at an electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia operated by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution, in which agents arrested nearly 500 people. U.S. authorities said most of those arrested were South Korean nationals living and working in the United States without proper authorization, including entering without authorization, overstaying visas or violating visa-waiver terms by working. Homan vowed on Sunday to continue workplace immigration enforcement operations similar to the Georgia raid.
Advocates and some news outlets have criticized recent enforcement tactics, saying they have led to detentions of people without criminal histories and have raised questions about racial profiling and transparency. Critics have called for more detailed public data—including the criminal histories of those arrested and the legal bases for targeted operations—to assess whether enforcement priorities and tactics conform to federal guidance and protections.
Administration officials and supporters of the enforcement actions say the operations are targeted at those who pose public-safety risks or who have violated immigration law, and they have defended workplace sweeps as lawful efforts to uphold immigration statutes. Homan argued that the operations are intentional and documented, countering suggestions that migrants are being held without due process or oversight.
The exchange between Homan and Brzezinski adds to a broader debate over immigration enforcement that has intensified amid rising numbers of workplace and border operations and partisan disagreements over how aggressively federal authorities should pursue undocumented immigrants. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have disputed enforcement priorities and pushed for legislative changes, while news organizations and civil-rights groups continue to seek more data and accountability from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.
Questions about the mix of criminal and civil immigration cases in recent operations, and about how agencies determine targets, are likely to remain central as federal authorities carry out additional enforcement actions and as members of Congress, advocates and reporters press for further information. Homan emphasized that ICE keeps case files and documentation for each planned operation and said those records support the agency's actions.
The contentious interview illustrates ongoing tensions between federal immigration officials and media critics over transparency, enforcement tactics and the treatment of migrants during raids and workplace sweeps. As enforcement continues, both administration officials and outside observers say public data and oversight will be critical to resolving disputes over the scope and conduct of ICE operations.