Tom Homan after CBP shooting: Sanctuary cities are enabling criminals

(NewsNation) — White House border czar Tom Homan is making one thing abundantly clear in the aftermath of an off-duty Border Patrol officer being shot — he’s had enough with these kinds of incidents.

Homan, in a Monday appearance on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” said everyone has seen the videos of illegal aliens in Times Square attacking NYPD officers and average United States citizens.

“It’s enough. I mean, criminal aliens have no place walking the streets of America, attacking American citizens,” Homan said.

The shooter, Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, was caught at the Arizona border in 2023 when he crossed over illegally. Nunez also had an active deportation order, but was released on his own recognizance. ICE arrested the second suspect, Christhian Aybar-Berroa, who also entered the U.S. illegally from the Dominican Republic in 2022 and has a criminal record in New York City.

Homan says the blame for the release should be placed at the feet of the Biden administration.

Under Biden, authorities “released millions into the United States without proper vetting.”

“The shooter and his accomplice both entered under the Biden administration. Both were released. Both are criminals. And this is why President Trump came into office. And the first thing we did under President Trump’s leadership, we ended catch and release. The law is clear. Federal law is clear: When you come to our border illegally and you don’t have proper documentation, enter, the law says you shall be detained.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday blamed Mayor Eric Adams and the sanctuary city policy for the shooting. But Homan feels there’s far more to the problem.

“This politics is why we’re in a position we’re in,” he said. “People put politics over public safety. And every sanctuary city does it.”

“New York, LA, Chicago, I mean, it just goes on and on and on. So bottom line is, sanctuaries are sanctuary for criminals,” despite the fact that leaders of those cities say they “want victims and witnesses of crime in the immigrant community to feel welcome.”

Homan acknowledged that ICE agents are going to “flood the zone” after New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he welcomes agents to the city to prevent such incidents from happening again.

“Bottom line, President Trump and myself have been saying from day one, our priorities are public safety threats and national security threats,” Homan said. “That’s what we’re focusing on.”

Officials said Monday they expect to bring federal charges against Mora Nunez and Aybar-Berroa. According to Noem, the officer who was shot remains in hospitalized.