By Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,
Approximately 68,000 illegal aliens have been arrested in the United States in the past three months, Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, told reporters at the White House on April 23.
“And we will continue despite the district court’s decision,” Homan said, referring to the ongoing legal battles surrounding Trump’s deportation orders.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein issued a ruling on April 9, which he extended on April 22, blocking the federal government from using the act, citing a lack of legal protection for the defendants.
Homan rejected the court’s decision and said an appeal was pending.
“We may have to suspend some of the deportation operations that we are doing, but that does not stop us from currently searching for these people, arresting them, and getting them off the streets of the United States while we await the court’s decision,” he said.
Trump gave law enforcement more authority to deal with members of certain gangs and cartels on his first day back in office when he signed an order designating the groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
In addition, he relied on the Alien Enemies Act to allow for the rapid deportation of individuals deemed dangerous to society.
Homan’s punished critics who suggest some of the arrested individuals will not be given the opportunity to support their cases in court.
“They want to say our administration is inhumane, we don’t provide due process,” he said.
“I find it incredible that this whole push is demanding more and more due process, more processes for these terrorist groups, when in fact no one asked for due process when they crossed the border.”
“No one asked for a check when crossing the border.”
He emphasized the role that secure borders, including the wall, play in helping legal immigrants and identifying humanitarian crises and medical emergencies, suggesting that such efforts help save “thousands” of lives every day.
“Every place we put up a border barrier, illegal immigration and illegal drug flow dropped,” Homan said.
“But you know what no one talks about, the wall saves lives.”
The border czar said the administration is working to fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to deport public safety threats and secure the border to protect national security.
Among those recently arrested are 27 members of the notorious Tren de Aragua international gang.
On April 22, the Justice Department charged them with numerous crimes, including extortion, sex and drug trafficking, robbery, and illegal possession of a firearm.
“As alleged, Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, trafficked people, and distributed deadly drugs through our communities,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.
“Today’s charges and arrests span three states and devastate the [gang’s] infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle this organization and purge it from our country.”
Homan said the effort demonstrates successful collaboration between Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and state and local law enforcement and marked the first time the administration used the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to target criminal illegal aliens.
“We sent a strong message to Tren de Aragua,” he said. “We will continue to do it.”
