JAN. 2025. Blues Vol 41 No. 1

during her campaign for

during her campaign for president —though her responsibilities weren’t aboutenforcing border security but about addressingthe root causes of migration fromGuatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.Alan Bersin served as border czar duringthe Obama administration. He was alsoborder czar within the Justice Departmentunder former President Bill Clinton, leadinga crackdown on illegal border crossings.Bersin said his role was created to haveone person responsible for coordinatingacross agencies on enforcing immigrationpolicy. He predicts that having the role inthe White House would allow Homan tobetter persuade and direct others — somethinghe struggled with under Obama.“Other agencies tend to listen to you andfeel more compelled to follow the directionthat you give on behalf of the president,”Bersin said. “He will be taken very seriouslyand there will be much more hesitation tostall or to refuse to implement policy thanwas often the case that I experienced.”Moving the role to work directly withthe president, and changing the lines ofcommunication and command, may helpstreamline policy and direct things “at aglobal level,” said Julie Myers Wood, whowas the assistant secretary of Immigrationand Customs Enforcement at DHS underPresident George W. Bush. She said DHS officialsmay be reassured by Homan’s experienceworking within the department.Still, she said, questions remain overHoman’s exact jurisdiction and how he willoversee various parts of immigration beyondthe borders, such as immigration lawenforcement in the interior of the country.WHAT HOMAN WANTS TO DO INTHE NEW ROLEHoman told the TV station 7News in Watertown,N.Y., that he would report directlyto the president as a kind of senior policyadviser.“I’ll be making decisions on border securityand deportation,” he said, adding that hewill oversee and come up with a strategyfor Trump’s mass deportation plan, bordersecurity and interior enforcement.Homan, who was considered one of thearchitects of the family separation policyduring the first Trump administration, alsocontributed to Project 2025, a conservativeplan from many Trump allies to reshapefederal policy and structure. Trump hassaid he wasn’t involved in Project 2025,though he has appointed many of its creatorsto prominent roles in his second term.During an interview with CBS News’ 60Minutes, Homan said he would crack downon workplaces and employers who rely onundocumented workers and would considerbringing back a policy of separatingfamilies.Trump supported several of Homan’s paststatements on how he would remove undocumentedimmigrants during Trump’sfirst network interview, with NBC News’Meet the Press With Kristen Welker.“The person that came in illegally can goout, or they can all go out together,” Trumpsaid, in reference to Homan’s past statementsthat mixed-status families can allleave together in order to avoid separatingfamilies. “And that was made very clear byTom Homan.”ROLE OF CONGRESSHoman told CBS he would use targetedarrests, prioritizing those considered publicsafety and national security threats —though it’s unclear how wide-ranging sucha definition would be. In interviews, he also90 90 The BLUES -- JANUARY ‘25

signaled an interest in changes to workervisas — primarily expanding access to seasonalagricultural visas for dairy farmers,which would require congressional approval.Visa policies underscore one of the manyways the border czar will have to workwith lawmakers on Capitol Hill.“Ultimately, the buck stops with Congress,”said Rebecca Shi, executive directorof the American Business ImmigrationCoalition, which advocates for changes toimmigration law. The immigration system“needs to be fixed at the congressional level,not the executive branch or the courts.Those are just temporary Band-Aids thatThe BLUES - - JANUARY ‘25 ‘25 91 91