Trump Border Czar Homan Admits Flaws in Minneapolis Crackdown but Defends Mass Deportations

Phoenix — Tom Homan, President Trump's border czar, told CBS News in an exclusive interview that things weren't perfect during the large-scale immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis but said the administration has fixed the problems and remains committed to mass deportations.

"Things weren't perfect. We addressed it. We fixed it," Homan said when asked if the administration made mistakes and went too far in the Minneapolis-area operation known as Operation Metro Surge.

Homan said he discussed changes to improve immigration enforcement with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Todd Lyons, the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who plans to leave the agency later this month.

"I've had the discussions with Secretary Markwayne Mullin. He agrees. We can have mass deportations, but do it in a smarter way, which we're doing," Homan added during the interview in Phoenix on Tuesday at the annual Border Security Expo.

Earlier this year, Trump tasked Homan with winding down the Minneapolis operation after federal immigration agents fatally shot U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good, drawing intense bipartisan backlash.

Asked if ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents involved in the killings should face consequences, including termination, if wrongdoing is found, Homan replied, "Yes."

"If they violated the law, they've got to be held responsible," Homan added. "When they violate policy, you've got to be held responsible."

Homan declined further comment because government investigations into the shootings are ongoing.

Homan said the public now sees fewer viral videos of ICE arrests because the agency has shifted to targeted operations against people with criminal records who are in the country illegally.

He noted that since scaling back the Minneapolis operation, Border Patrol agents have stopped making seemingly random immigration checks at parking lots and public places.

Agents will still arrest people found illegally in the country during operations, even if they lack criminal histories and were not initial targets, Homan said.

"If they're in the country illegally, they're not off the table," he said.

Retired Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who led the broader sweeps in Minneapolis and other cities, recently criticized the administration's softer approach. Bovino lost his command after Pretti's killing and retired in March.

Homan disagreed with Bovino's view and called the change a smarter approach. He denied Bovino's claim that the administration is backing away from its mass deportation promise.

"He's wrong. He's wrong," Homan said. "Numbers prove it. Look at the numbers of arrests and removals in the past year, and you give me one year we've done more. Never."

Homan said ICE and CBP together have conducted about 800,000 deportations since Trump returned to the White House.

He said the public should not expect large-scale aggressive crackdowns like the Minneapolis campaign.

Mass operations will continue, however, especially in sanctuary cities that limit local cooperation with ICE, Homan said.

"We had a historic illegal immigration crisis for four years," he said. "So what's required now? A historic mass deportation."