Trump border czar Tom Homan to probe leak that stifled ICE raid in Colorado
Border czar Tom Homan issued a warning after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid was leaked this week, greatly reducing the number of violent Venezuelan gang members authorities were able to arrest.
Homan said he will be addressing the leak stemming from Wednesday’s operation in Aurora, Colorado, “immediately” during “The Faulkner Focus,” making it clear anyone who stifles the agency’s ability to get dangerous criminals off the streets will be held accountable.
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“We’re not going to tolerate it anymore. This is not a game,” Homan told Harris Faulkner on Thursday.
“When we show up at these sites, this is a dangerous job for the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol and all the DOJ agencies. To have this type of interference puts our officers at great risk, not only the officers, it puts the aliens at great risk because anything can happen when we take our eyes off the goal here, so we’re addressing it immediately today.”
“This is not a joke. This is serious business, and they need to stop, or we’re going to prosecute them through [the] Department of Justice,” he continued.
Homan confirmed a raid in Aurora on Wednesday was leaked to the community beforehand, which greatly reduced the arrests of Tren de Aragua gang members and other dangerous criminals.
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Denver posted to X that “100+ members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were targeted for arrest and detention in Aurora, Colo., today by ICE and its partners @FBI @DEAHQ @CBP @ATFHQ & @USMarshalsHQ in an ongoing investigation.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Rocky Mountain Division not only confirmed to local KDVR that this was part of the operation that was expected to start in Aurora last week, but also posted a video just after 7 a.m. local time of agents conducting search warrant operations.
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However, when hundreds of federal officials began the raid going door-to-door at various apartment complexes, they were met largely with many empty buildings.
Activists also lined the streets taunting them while they looked for perpetrators.
One activist shouted, “You dumb a*******! What the f*** is wrong with you? Get out of our community!”
“Please remain silent!” another activist shouted in Spanish through a megaphone. “Don’t open the door.”
“We have some activist groups that are going around and moving migrants around and telling them not to answer their doors,” Aurora city council member Danielle Jurinsky said during “America’s Newsroom” on Thursday.
“Fortunately, there is one apartment complex that was hit yesterday by law enforcement, Whispering Pines. That is one of the complexes that I have talked about for months and months. Those folks opened their doors. They said that they were treated with respect. They were treated kindly.”
“They were just essentially asked who they are,” she continued. “I have no problem with federal agents coming into the city of Aurora anywhere in the Denver metro area to find out who exactly has come into our city.”
Officials arrested about 30 people in Wednesday’s operation as a result, according to Fox News’ Bill Melugin, and only one of those arrested was a Tren de Aragua gang member.
This was a far cry from the more than 100 arrests they were hoping to make before the leak.
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Despite the operation falling short of what officials had hoped for, Homan said federal agencies remain committed to President Trump’s vow of securing the border and cracking down on illegal immigration.
“For any mayor or governor who doesn’t want public safety threats removed in the communities, I find it hard to believe that, but we’re going to do it with or without them,” he said. “If they’re not going to help, get out the way. But don’t cross that line. Do not impede our operations. Do not knowingly conceal or harbor illegal aliens because we will seek prosecution.”
“We’re going to do what the president promised American people,” he continued. “We’re going to make our communities safer by targeting those who are in the country illegally that have [a] criminal record or [are a] public safety threat.”
Homan said ICE has arrested nearly 12,000 people since the president took office.
Fox News’ Pilar Arias and Nicole Wright contributed to this report.
