Former Trump administration official Tom Homan—a co-author of the right-wing Project 2025's policy agenda—outlined what one immigrant rights advocate said on Thursday reflected the "cruel, dangerous, and destructive" vision that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had for immigration in the United States.
At the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Homan, former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, confirmed that a victory by the former Republican president would usher in a sweeping deportation effort like the one described in Project 2025.
The 900-page policy agenda, spearheaded by the right-wing Heritage Foundation and co-written by 38 conservatives including 31 people who worked within the Trump administration, calls for any and all "immigration violators" to be forcibly removed from the country, and Homan doubled down on the proposal at the conference.
"Trump comes back in January, I'll be on his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen," said Homan. "They ain't seen shit yet. Wait until 2025."
Trump has threatened to recruit police officers to take part in a nationwide immigration crackdown that would include the deportations of roughly 20 million people.
In his first term, Trump deported 1.5 million people.
"Each candidate seeking office needs to address the impact this proposed massive roundup of moms, dads, business owners, and working men and women would have in their state, district, or community."
Homan had previously said that "no one is off the table" for deportations in a second Trump term, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, or Dreamers; essential workers, residents who have been in the U.S. for decades, and people with temporary protected status (TPS).
Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of immigrant rights group America's Voice, noted that the mass detention and deportation plan Trump and Homan have outlined is opposed by a majority of Americans.
"Their proposed vision to round up and deport millions of long-settled immigrants from American families and communities is deeply unpopular and would wreak havoc on our economy and every corner of the country," said Cárdenas. "Yet, Republicans are lining up behind this vision."
"Each candidate seeking office needs to address the impact this proposed massive roundup of moms, dads, business owners, and working men and women would have in their state, district, or community," she added.
