Trump border czar visits Maine, says ‘more enforcement action’ to come
White House border czar Tom Homan speaks with reporters outside the White House in July. Homan recently visited northern Maine to talk about immigration issues, the White House confirmed. (Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press)
The Trump administration’s border czar visited Maine’s northern border last week, according to a spokesperson for the White House.
Tom Homan told a state representative that he came to Maine to meet with officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as first reported by the Bangor Daily News.
“You’re going to see a lot more enforcement action in Maine,” Homan said, according to a video posted to Facebook by Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips.
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Homan made the remarks on Aug. 18, ahead of his Maine visit, during an event by the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Alexandria Bay, New York.
He said he planned to visit the state in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Trump administration’s efforts to end legal immigration status for hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti and Syria. In Maine, hundreds of people have Temporary Protected Status, also referred to as TPS.
“I know you guys took on a lot of refugees over the past few years, a lot under Joe Biden,” Homan said of Maine, according to Soboleski’s video. “As you know, we’re revetting all those refugees now. A lot of TPS people in Maine. They’re not going to be there much longer either.”
A CBP spokesperson referred a reporter to the White House for more information about Homan’s visit. The White House did not provide additional details.
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Homan’s trip to Maine came days before Vice President JD Vance appeared Monday at Compotech, a defense technology manufacturer in Brewer — his second visit to Maine in the past few months.
Social media posts circulating this week also appear to show former U.S. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino in Portland. It’s unclear why.
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Tagged: ICE, immigration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, JD Vance, maine politics, Mike Soboleski, U.S. Border Patrol
Morgan covers breaking news and public safety for the Portland Press Herald. Before moving to Maine in 2024, she reported for Michigan State University's student-run publication, as well as the Indianapolis. More by Morgan Womack
