To oversee this effort, Trump tapped former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Tom Homan as his administration’s “border czar.”

Homan, who will soon become deporter in chief, gave new insight into what to expect across the country as ICE officers, along with possible reinforcements of police and retired military personnel, are preparing to carry out the operation on January 20.

Homan has already received threats against his life and that of his family in recent days, he said, but he has maintained the position and plan of the new Trump administration.

“To the extent that people want to oppose the deportation of these people, what is the option? You have the right to request asylum. You have a right to see a judge, and we get there, but at the end of that due process, when the judge says, “You have to go home,” then we have to take them home because if not not the case, what the hell are we doing? Homan said Fox and friends Monday.

Homan cited “far more” illegal immigrants living in the United States now than when Trump left office in January 2021 due to the border crisis under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. During this period, more than 10 million immigrants were welcomed at the country’s borders and most were admitted.

So far, the new administration has considered targeting criminals and people with deportation orders as the first to be deported, followed by illegal workers.

Criminals and immigrants deported by court order

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance have touted starting by arresting and deporting the estimated 500,000 to 1 million illegal immigrants with criminal records — although both have offered varying figures on the number of criminal immigrants in the country. country.

“President Trump has been clear; threats to public safety and national security will be the priority because they must be. They are the greatest danger to this country,” Homan said.

In addition to criminals, the Trump-Vance administration wants to deport individuals who have already been ordered deported by a federal immigration judge.

“We’re going to prioritize these groups, those who already have final orders, those who have received due process at the taxpayers’ expense, and the federal judge says you need to go home. And that’s not the case. They became fugitives,” Homan said.

In fiscal year 2024, which ended in September, immigration judges ordered the deportation of 314,000 people, up from 236,000 the year before, according to federal data compiled by the Transactional Research Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In total, approximately 1.3 million people have received deportation orders and are still in the United States, according to the The Wall Street Journal.

Homan added that he expects broad support from local, state and federal police, as well as retired police officers who want to help the government carry out this operation.

“Thousands of retired agents, retired Border Patrol agents and retired military personnel (have called) to come and volunteer to help this president secure the border and conduct this operation. expulsion,” Homan said. “It would be great for local law enforcement to help ICE.”

Targeting construction sites for illegal workers

“Site operations must take place,” Homan said Monday. “Where do we find most victims of sex trafficking and forced labor? On construction sites.

Workplace enforcement operations involve ICE sending warnings to a company or business regarding concerns that the employer has workers who are not authorized to work in the country.

Historically, workplace raids have made national headlines, with ICE targeting adults working in food processing centers.

Eric Ruark, research director at the nonprofit NumbersUSA in Washington, said Trump should convince Congress to pass a national mandate for E-Verify, a federal program that immediately verifies a person’s employment status . At this time, E-Verify is available to all employers but is not a requirement to verify employees.

NumbersUSA, which is nonpartisan but takes a more rigid approach to immigration, supports a national bill requiring E-Verify.

Implementing E-Verify would alleviate some pressure on ICE because it would make the hiring process much more difficult for illegal workers to manage in the first place.

“A national E-Verify law would incentivize many people who are here illegally to return to their home countries because the magnet that draws them here is job opportunities,” Ruark said in a phone call Monday . “I can tell you why this hasn’t been implemented – because it’s effective. We’ve seen both parties oppose workplace enforcement. The most effective tool is E-Verify.

Asset implemented E-Verify on his personal properties in 2019 but did not move on the program during his first term. A campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether Trump would push Congress to pass a national mandate for E-Verify.

The consequences of expulsions

Trump and Vance have claimed that 20 to 25 million illegal immigrants live in the country, but have not specified how or whether they would deport everyone, only that the operation would be historic in scale.

Immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and are protected by programs from deportation, such as under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or temporary protected status, would be temporarily protected from deportation.

Each of these statuses is not permanent, meaning the Trump administration could end protections under DACA or Temporary Protected Status, which would render recipients without legal presence and require them to apply to the court where a judge would decide whether they will be returned. .

Asked in October about the impact mass evictions could have on families, Homan told CBS News 60 minutes that “families can be deported together,” adding that any immigrant parent who entered the country illegally and had a child here “created this crisis.”

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David W. Leopold, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and now a partner at the UB Greensfelder law firm in Cleveland, said the impact would have a negative effect on immigrants and the economy because of its impact on the labor market.

“The consequences of the expected massive roundup will impact the lives of many U.S. citizen workers and professionals who will likely seek help and/or guidance from their employers,” Leopold wrote in a statement. analysis November 8. “Businesses should have a plan to deal with the consequences of mass evictions. »