Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump’s Border Czar, announced plans to reinstate family detentions for undocumented immigrants entering the United States. The move signals a return to stringent immigration enforcement under the incoming administration.
Homan stated that immigration officials would no longer allow undocumented individuals to remain in the U.S. simply because they have U.S.-born children. Instead, families apprehended at the border will face two options: leave the country together or be separated.
“You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child,” Homan told The Washington Post. “You put your family in that position.”
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To accommodate the policy, Homan revealed plans to construct new residential centers and family detention facilities. “We’re going to need to construct family facilities,” he said. “How many beds we’re going to need will depend on what the data says.”
The initiative marks a stark departure from the current approach under President Joe Biden, who ended many Trump-era and Obama-era immigration practices, including family detentions and workplace raids.
Homan also confirmed that the Trump administration would seek to revive the controversial “Remain in Mexico” program, which required migrants claiming asylum to stay in Mexico while their applications were processed. Additionally, Homan indicated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would resume workplace raids targeting employers who hire undocumented workers.
“The Biden administration has sent the wrong message by ending these enforcement measures,” Homan argued. “We’re going to bring back these critical policies to secure our border and enforce the law.”
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The proposed measures are already drawing criticism from immigration advocates, who argue that family detentions and the “Remain in Mexico” policy expose vulnerable migrants to dangerous conditions and violate human rights.
PAST ADMIN’S ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION POLICY
The detention of illegal immigrants during the Obama administration was characterized by a mix of enforcement policies and a focus on prioritizing deportations of certain categories of undocumented individuals.
The Obama administration adopted a policy of prioritizing the deportation of individuals deemed to pose the greatest threat to public safety, border security, and national security. These priorities included:
- Recent border crossers.
- Individuals with serious criminal convictions.
- Repeat immigration violators.
This approach was formalized in 2014 through the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP), which replaced the earlier Secure Communities program.
In response to a surge in Central American migrants, particularly families and unaccompanied minors, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2014, the Obama administration expanded the use of family detention centers. These facilities were designed to house mothers and children together while their immigration cases were processed.
Key detention centers included:
- Karnes County Residential Center (Texas).
- South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley (Texas), the largest family detention center in the country.
- Berks Family Residential Center (Pennsylvania).
These facilities faced criticism for alleged poor conditions and concerns over detaining children.
The detention of families and children during the Obama era was met with significant backlash from immigrant advocates, legal groups, and human rights organizations. Critics argued that:
- Detaining children, even with their parents, was harmful to their physical and psychological well-being.
- Conditions in some detention centers were inadequate.
- Families were being held for prolonged periods without due process.
A key legal challenge came in the form of the Flores Settlement Agreement, a 1997 court ruling that limits the detention of children in immigration custody to 20 days. The Obama administration’s expanded use of family detention was seen by some as inconsistent with this agreement.
In response to criticism, the Obama administration increased the use of Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs. These programs aimed to monitor individuals while they awaited court proceedings, using measures like:
- Electronic ankle monitors.
- Regular check-ins with immigration officials.
- Community-based supervision programs.
The Obama administration deported a record number of undocumented immigrants, earning President Obama the nickname “Deporter-in-Chief” from critics. Between 2009 and 2016, over 3 million people were deported.
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However, many deportations involved individuals apprehended at the border rather than long-term U.S. residents. The administration’s focus on enforcement at the border contributed to higher detention and removal numbers early in Obama’s presidency.
Toward the end of Obama’s presidency, there was a shift toward more lenient policies:
- The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was introduced in 2012, providing temporary relief from deportation for eligible undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
- Efforts were made to reduce detention of asylum seekers and prioritize alternatives to detention for vulnerable populations.
During the Trump administration (2017–2021), immigration enforcement and detention policies were markedly different from those of the Obama era. The Trump administration implemented aggressive measures to reduce illegal immigration, often focusing on detention and deportation. Below are the key aspects of illegal immigrant detentions during this period:
One of the most controversial Trump-era policies was the “zero-tolerance” policy, announced in April 2018, which mandated the prosecution of all individuals illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Family Separation: Under this policy, adults were prosecuted for illegal entry, resulting in the separation of thousands of children from their parents. These children were held in federal shelters or placed in foster care while their parents were detained or deported.
- The policy was heavily criticized domestically and internationally for its humanitarian impact, leading to widespread protests and lawsuits.
- After significant backlash, President Trump signed an executive order in June 2018 to end family separations, though issues persisted due to logistical challenges in reuniting families.
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The Trump administration greatly expanded immigration detention capacity, with a focus on detaining all undocumented immigrants apprehended, including asylum seekers. By 2019, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was detaining more than 50,000 individuals daily, a significant increase compared to the Obama administration. The administration relied heavily on private prison companies to house the growing number of detainees. Contracts with companies like GEO Group and CoreCivic increased under Trump.
The Trump administration reduced funding and scaled back the use of Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs, such as electronic monitoring and check-ins. These programs were seen as less punitive and cost-effective compared to detention but were criticized by Trump officials for being insufficiently strict.
The Trump administration removed the prioritization framework of the Obama era, which focused on targeting individuals with serious criminal convictions.
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Executive Order 13768: This order, issued in January 2017, made all undocumented immigrants subject to deportation, regardless of their criminal history or lack thereof. This shift significantly increased the detention of individuals with no prior criminal record, including long-term residents with deep community ties.
The Trump administration sought to deter asylum seekers by implementing restrictive policies:
- “Remain in Mexico” (Migrant Protection Protocols): This program required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims were processed in the U.S. immigration system.
- Thousands of migrants were forced to live in dangerous conditions in border towns.
- Mandatory Detention: Many asylum seekers who managed to enter the U.S. were detained, often for prolonged periods, until their cases were resolved.
Conditions in detention facilities under the Trump administration faced intense scrutiny:
- Reports of overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of medical care, and mistreatment emerged from detention centers, especially during the surge in border crossings in 2019.
- A 2019 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General report highlighted unsafe and unsanitary conditions in several facilities.
- Advocacy groups raised concerns about the treatment of children in custody, particularly in facilities run by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The Trump administration introduced the public charge rule, which made it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they were deemed likely to rely on public benefits. Although not directly related to detention, this policy was part of a broader effort to deter both legal and illegal immigration.
The Trump administration implemented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in detention centers:
- Title 42: Introduced in March 2020, this policy allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the border under public health grounds, bypassing normal immigration processes.
- Despite these measures, outbreaks of COVID-19 occurred in multiple detention facilities, leading to calls for the release of non-violent detainees and vulnerable populations.
Trump’s immigration detention policies faced widespread criticism and numerous legal challenges. Courts ruled against some of the administration’s policies, such as prolonged detention without bond hearings for asylum seekers. Public outrage over family separations and detention conditions prompted congressional investigations and advocacy campaigns.
The Trump administration’s detention policies left a lasting impact on U.S. immigration enforcement. Proponents argue that the strict policies reduced illegal crossings and strengthened national security. Critics contend that the policies were inhumane, undermined asylum protections, and caused long-term harm to detained families and children.
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