Thomas Homan will be the border czar for the incoming Trump administration. His responsibilities will include the borders with Mexico and Canada, all maritime and aviation security and all deportations.

Fortunately, he is well qualified for these responsibilities. Homan began a career in law enforcement as a police officer, and then spent 34 years enforcing immigration laws. He has been a special agent for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, a border patrol officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and an acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The fact that he has spent so many years enforcing the country’s immigration laws does not mean he is anti-immigration. He is anti-illegal immigration.

For instance, he has acknowledged that migrants have a right to due process and a right to claim asylum. He thinks that foreign workers with lawful status should be available to employers who can’t meet their employment needs with American workers.

But Homan is going to enforce the immigration laws that Congress passed. And he is not going to revise them to achieve political objectives the way the previous administration did with its Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law.

These guidelines created a powerful “home free” magnet by prohibiting enforcement proceedings against migrants solely on the basis of their unlawful status. Illegal crossers will keep trying until they succeed as long as they know they will be safe from deportation once they have reached the interior of the country.

However, although Homan will deport migrants who are just here unlawfully, they will not be a priority.

"President Trump made it clear we will prioritize public........

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