Tom Homan slams calls to abolish ICE as border enforcement hits records
Border czar Tom Homan slams calls from progressives to abolish the agency as border enforcement actions reach historic levels. Homan highlights recent record-breaking arrests and deportations, emphasizing that seventy percent of those detained are convicted criminals. He also reveals ICE's critical role in rescuing over one hundred and fifty thousand smuggled children, warning of the dangerous consequences of dismantling the agency.
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EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported more than 2,000 known or suspected terrorists from the U.S. since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tells Fox News Digital, as the nation prepares to mark 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
DHS said ICE arrested more than 2,150 known or suspected terrorists between Jan. 20, 2025, and Sept. 9, 2026, and deported 2,015 during that period.
"As we reflect on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the brave men and women of ICE continue to carry out their duty to protect the homeland and keep the American people safe," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the department’s announcement.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S IMMIGRATION PUSH FUELS ICE'S BIGGEST ARREST MONTH IN AGENCY HISTORY
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
Mullin said ICE had arrested more than 2,100 known or suspected terrorists and deported more than 2,000, adding that the anniversary underscored the department’s commitment to "eternal vigilance."
DHS pointed to several recent cases involving alleged terrorists and members of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
WHITE HOUSE UFC TERROR PLOT 'RINGLEADER' IS A MEXICAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, DHS CONFIRMS
ICE agents conduct a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago. (Christopher Dilts / Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
In June, federal authorities arrested Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, a Mexican national DHS described as the suspected ringleader of an alleged mass-casualty plot targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.
DHS said Alvarez overstayed a visitor visa that expired in 2001 and later received DACA status in 2014. ICE lodged a detainer following his arrest.
Days earlier, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Felipe Linares De Oliveira Dell Aquilla, a Brazilian national DHS identified as a former commander of two designated foreign terrorist organizations.
Authorities said they recovered a handgun, cash and multiple electronic devices after a vehicle and foot pursuit in North Carolina.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE ARRESTED MORE THAN 10,000 SUSPECTED GANG MEMBERS
ICE conducts an immigration operation in New York City. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images, File)
DHS said Aquilla was wanted in Brazil on criminal association and extortion charges and was allegedly holding his wife against her will while preparing to flee to Mexico.
ICE lodged a detainer after his arrest, while investigators pursued additional firearm and kidnapping charges.
Four Venezuelan members of Tren de Aragua also pleaded guilty in May to charges stemming from a 2024 Bronx shooting that killed two people.
DHS said all four had entered the United States illegally between 2022 and 2023.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: 9/11 IS JUST A HISTORY CHAPTER FOR A NEW GENERATION OF AMERICANS
Flowers left by mourners at the 911 Memorial in New York City. (Getty Images, File)
The announcement comes as the nation prepares to mark 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.
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The attacks prompted the largest overhaul of the nation's homeland security apparatus in decades, including the creation of DHS in 2002 and ICE the following year.
Friday's anniversary will commemorate the victims of the attacks and the first responders who rushed into danger, while marking a quarter-century of U.S. efforts to prevent another large-scale terrorist attack on American soil.
Jasmine Baehr is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, legal debates surrounding life and family policy, as well as faith and culture.
