Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, was pressed Thursday on CNN about the administration’s efforts to bring back wrongly deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“Are you personally aware of any steps that have been taken to facilitate his return to the United States?” Kaitlan Collins asked Homan, citing Judge Paula Xinis’s assertion in federal court that the Trump administration has done “nothing” to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. Homan dodged the question and repeated the same lies.
“Look, I think he’s a citizen of El Salvador. He’s in El Salvador, he’s home. He’s a illegal alien with a final order of removal. He’s a MS-13 member, which is now classified as a terrorist,” Homan replied.
“So should I read that as to say nothing has been done to bring him back to the United States? That’s what it sounds like,” Collins said.
“I can’t speak to everybody in the administration. I can just tell you what my stance is, and uh, I think we did the right thing, I think he’s where he should be,” Homan said.
Collins: Are you personally aware of any steps that have been taken to facilitate his return to the United States?
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 18, 2025
Homan: Look, I think he's a citizen of El Salvador. He's in El Salvador, he's home.
Collins: So nothing has been done? pic.twitter.com/vmIMJ47Evz
Homan’s response says everything about the intransigence of the Trump administration. They keep repeating that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 member, despite the fact that he has no criminal record and is a member of a building trades union. The administration claims he’s been sent “home” when his U.S. citizen wife and children are in Maryland.
At this point, the Supreme Court has ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., Xinis has ordered the government to provide her regular updates on the steps it is taking, and an appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s request to halt these proceedings. It’s clear that the White House is intent on ignoring every judicial check on its power, refusing to acknowledge that it has to abide by due process and return Abrego Garcia to the United States.