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“Border King” Tom Homan has dismissed allegations that President Donald Trump sent him to Minneapolis as part of a repeal of Minnesota’s immigration enforcement agency.
“If anyone thinks that Tom Homan, if President Trump, is not serious about immigration enforcement and mass deportation, they’re not paying attention,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Friday.
Joining “Hannity” for his first interview since being sent to Minneapolis, Homan detailed his mission to end the rampant violence in Minnesota while making it clear that there will be no surrender.
“To set the record straight, because my staff says they’ve seen a lot of people who say President Trump supports his promise to deport more people — that’s not true,” he said.
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White House ‘border king’ Tom Homan speaks to the media outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on Jan. 14. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
“For people who want to misrepresent what it means for President Trump to send me to Minneapolis, you’re not paying attention,” Homan said.
President Donald Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis this week to replace Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who the president has suggested has not done a good job of overseeing the federal immigration crackdown.
“Bovino is very good, but he’s a good person,” Trump told Fox News’ Will Cain on Tuesday. “And in some cases, that’s good. Maybe it wasn’t good here.”
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“Tom is very good. Tom is a tough guy, but I’ve watched over the years, and he gets along with governors, and he gets along with mayors,” he added. “Some don’t want to. Others want to do their work and leave me alone.”
A separate photo shows Greg Bovino, Border Patrol field officer in El Centro, California, left, and border chief Tom Homan, right. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
On “Hannity,” Homan revealed more about his “productive” meeting Tuesday with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
He said leaders promised to respect immigration detainees within Minnesota’s prison system, allowing police to make arrests inside prisons rather than searching for suspects on the streets.
““If we have more agents in prisons, all these people are safe and secure in prison, it’s safe for the police, it’s safe for the alien, it’s safe for the community,” explained Homan.
Federal agents working in neighborhoods to find deportation targets have become the epicenter of widespread unrest in Minnesota, with members of the public protesting their actions.
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Government agents tried to clear protesters near the hotel, using tear gas during a protest demonstration in response to immigration enforcement operations in the city on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Photo by Adam Gray/AP)
““One agent can put a bad guy in jail rather than send a whole team out into the community,” Homan said.
“What one agent can do in a prison, we have to send 15 or 16 guys to do it,” he added.
Homan said if Walz and Frey follow through on their promise to cooperate, the number of joint agents in Minnesota could be reduced.
“We can reduce the number of agents because we are in prisons,” he said.
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Protesters chant and bang trash cans as they stand behind a temporary barricade during a protest in response to the death of Alex Pretti, 37, who was shot and killed by a US Border Patrol officer earlier in the day, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
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Although Homan says his goal is to ease the tension in Minnesota amid the turmoil surrounding the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, he insisted his leadership will not waver.
“We will deport in large numbers, but we will prioritize the arrest of criminals and threats to public safety,” he said.
“If you’re in the country illegally, you’re not at the table. We’ll find you, and deport you again.”
