Tom Homan, President Trump’s “border czar,” is seething after an immigration raid in a suburb of Denver was allegedly leaked, allowing targets in the Venezuela-linked Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang to escape.
“This isn’t a game. We know that TDA is dangerous,” Homan said Thursday in a statement to reporters outside the White House.
“Everybody can agree to that, but when they get a heads-up that we are coming, it’s only a matter of time before our officers are ambushed,” he added, according to The Associated Press, “Their job is dangerous enough. So we are going to address this very seriously.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were still able to carry out some arrests, but the number of individuals detained remains unclear. The agency has been actively documenting their deportation efforts via social media.
“100+ members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were targeted for arrest and detention in Aurora, Colo., today by ICE and its partners @FBI @DEAHQ @CBP @ATFHQ & @USMarshalsHQ in an ongoing investigation,” the agency wrote Wednesday in statement on social platform X.
Agents raided an apartment complex frequented by gang members where several individuals died due to alleged fentanyl overdoses, AP reported. A local judge has identified the site as a public safety threat and ordered its closure by Feb. 18.
ICE averaged 787 arrests a day from Jan. 23 to Jan. 31.
The arrests come after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authorized the agency to carry out arrests in schools and churches late last month, rescinding a previous guideline that barred arrests in these “sensitive” areas. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) argued that the move infringed on the city’s public safety.
“It’s all for the good of this nation, and we’re going to keep going. No apologies,” Homan told Fox News in an interview last month, responding to Johnston’s complaints. “We’re moving forward.”
The two men have been at odds since the administration began acting on Trump’s pledge to executive mass deportations. The border czar even threatened to put the mayor in jail if he refuses to cooperate with the president’s immigration orders.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for additional comment.
