Trump border czar privately tempers Republican lawmaker’s expectations on administration’s initial deportation operation – WSVN 7News | Miami news, weather, sports

(CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has privately told Republican lawmakers to temper their expectations for the new administration’s initial deportation operation, citing limited resources, according to multiple sources involved in the talks.

While Trump’s allies have introduced measures to detain and deport people in the U.S. illegally, those plans depend largely on resources and funding available to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has historically faced budget shortfalls.

“We are not discussing the 20 million (deportations). We’re having a discussion about agenda, priority and expectations,” GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, who was at one of the meetings with Homan, told CNN.

The discussions are part of a broader understanding taking place among House Republicans, who are currently grappling with challenges in making one of their key campaign promises a reality. Republicans are also grappling with the painful realization that most border-altering measures are unlikely to be included on Trump’s massive agenda, given the strict rules of the reconciliation process that require proposals to increase revenues or cut spending, not policy changes. .

“Many members are just now starting to understand this,” one GOP lawmaker told CNN.

Trump announced the largest deportation operation in history eloquent in December, according to Time magazine, he believes there will be “probably 15, maybe even 20 million” illegal immigrants in the U.S. by the time he takes office.

Homan, a veteran immigration enforcer, outlined a multi-layered approach to Trump’s mass deportation pledge, according to lawmakers and sources involved in discussions during recent meetings with House Republicans.

Homan and lawmakers are using current government funding levels to develop a plan that multiple sources involved in the discussions say will target 1 to 2 million undocumented immigrants eligible for removal as soon as possible. Currently, approximately 1.4 million people in the U.S. have final removal immigration orders.

“Homan was telling some MPs, ‘Hey, if you want me to do all these things you’re talking about, it costs money, and it can’t be done with the CR that’s currently in place,'” one GOP MP told CNN, referring to to the ongoing budget resolution that simply increases the current level of DHS funding.

“President Trump will enlist all federal authorities and coordinate with state authorities to carry out the largest operation in American history to deport illegal criminals, drug dealers and human traffickers, while lowering costs for families. The American people re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming majority, giving him a mandate to implement his campaign promises, such as deporting criminal migrants and restoring our economic greatness. He will keep his word,” Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition team, told CNN in a statement.

Another GOP lawmaker whose committee oversees the Department of Homeland Security’s budget told CNN that Homan is trying to work as fast as the system’s constraints allow.

“His message is not a code like: ‘Nothing will happen’ or ‘We will slow down’ or whatever. But this is a responsible political approach to getting things done quickly, but also in the context of a realistic assessment of how best to do it and deliver on the promises made by the incoming administration,” GOP lawmaker Mark Amodei told CNN.

Homan has repeatedly emphasized that he remains focused on threats to public safety and national security, but did not rule out that other people who are in the U.S. illegally but do not pose a security risk could be subject to deportation.

In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Homan said he would need at least 100,000 beds to hold undocumented immigrants — more than double the 40,000 detention beds ICE currently funds — and would need more ICE agents. The agency employs approximately 6,000 immigration enforcement officers.

“It all depends on the funding I get from Hill,” Homan said on CNN’s “The Source.” He did not specify how many illegal immigrants he hopes to deport by the end of Trump’s next four years in office.

Some Republicans told CNN they received word of the funding.

“He’s going to need the money right away,” GOP Rep. Andy Biggs told CNN.

But many lawmakers acknowledge that providing Homan with the funding needed to launch an unprecedented deportation effort would be extremely challenging.

Republicans are trying to massively cut government spending overall, but all parties involved acknowledge that increasing deportations will cost much more than the government’s current allocations.

According to preliminary estimates prepared by American Immigration Councildeporting 1 million people per year will cost approximately $88 billion annually and $960 billion over 10 years. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 271,484 immigrants last fiscal year under President Joe Biden, the highest level of deportations since 2014. According to to the annual report. Former President Barack Obama deported about 400,000 people in one year, but a large number of them were people who had only recently crossed the border. Trump faces a greater challenge when it comes to attacking those already in the country.

But with the next government funding deadline two months away, top House funders tell CNN they haven’t even received key numbers with which to start working, making it much more difficult for them to plan how to increase deportation funding.

“While there may be private discussions, no one is talking publicly about March 14 at this time. And it will happen soon. In just two months. We have to fund this government,” GOP Rep. Steve Womack, the senior House holder of the House of Representatives, told CNN. “It will be unacceptable for us to blame our inaction on the fact that we simply ran out of time.”

“Deportation is going to cost a lot,” Biggs told CNN. “But guess what? This will also save you a lot. And it will be a net benefit.”

But despite all the pitfalls that lie ahead, Republicans know they have to start somewhere, and they argue that once deportations begin under Trump, there is a serious possibility that undocumented immigrants will self-deport. It was also admitted that Trump’s expected executive orders would largely contribute to starting the process of solving the problem of deportations, closing the border and changing the immigration system. Republicans also say there is a serious need to address staffing issues at ICE and ensure there are enough beds in detention facilities.

Groups of Republicans are scheduled to travel to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to meet directly with Trump and get guidance and a candid conversation on what to do next.

GOP Rep. Clay Higgins, a member of one of the groups scheduled to meet with Trump this weekend, said that while Trump may see challenges ahead, that doesn’t stop him from aiming high.

“He said, ‘I understand the complications. Work on them. Make it happen. I want it done yesterday,” Higgins said of Trump’s thinking.