A day after offering up tough talk on how Democratic officials could be arrested for impeding agents attempting to abduct immigrants in Los Angeles, Donald Trump’s border czar retreated after California Gov. Gavin Newsom called his bluff.
On Sunday, Tom Homan told NBC News that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement would continue to carry out deportations in California despite ongoing protests against raids and the resulting community disruption. Homan told the network that officials like Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could be targeted for arrest if their actions were seen as hindering ICE’s response.
“I’ll say it about anybody—you cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job,” Homan said.
The Trump administration has previously used law enforcement to go after elected officials. In April the FBI, led by Trump fan fiction writer Kash Patel, arrested Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan and accused her of obstructing efforts to deport an undocumented immigrant. In May, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested after he inspected an ICE facility in his city.
Back in California, Newsom responded to Homan’s threat with defiance.
“Trump’s border czar is threatening to arrest me for speaking out. Come and get me, tough guy. I don’t give a damn. It won’t stop me from standing up for California,” he wrote.
Newsom echoed the sentiment during an interview with NBC.
“So Tom, arrest me, let’s go,” the governor said.
But on Monday, Homan wasn’t nearly as tough.
The official who usually wears a suit appeared on MSNBC dressed in Fidel Castro-style olive fatigues, echoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s widely derided efforts to cosplay while doing her job.
Anchor Jonathan Lemire played a video of Newsom’s remarks then asked Homan to respond.
“Look, I’m not biting on that,” Homan replied. He complained that his earlier remarks to NBC had been edited to omit context and unrealistically demanded that the entirety of his “20-minute” interview be aired.
“I never threatened to arrest Gov. Newsom, so I’m not biting off of that, that reporter’s dishonest,” Homan claimed.
But even as the border czar retreated, Trump was hyping him up. Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, the president was asked if Newsom should be arrested.
“I would do it, if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” Trump said.
Homan’s cowardly threat against California officials was reminiscent of his whining in February after Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dared to inform immigrants of their constitutional rights that protect against unreasonable search and seizure by law enforcement. Appearing on Fox News, Homan said he had referred Ocasio-Cortez to the Department of Justice for purportedly breaking the law.
“Maybe he can learn to read,” the congresswoman from New York wrote in response. “The Constitution would be a good place to start.”
Related | Democratic governors blast Trump’s illegal invasion of California
When he isn’t issuing limp threats against Democratic leaders, Homan has been making up terroristic threats to justify immigration crackdowns and facing allegations of corruption based on his financial ties to detention centers that are holding undocumented immigrants.
Trump selected Homan, who oversaw horrific child separation during the first Trump administration, because of his callous approach to immigration and willingness to echo Trump’s racism. But the supposed tough guy quickly deflates in the face of principled opposition.