Tom Homan Suggests Denver Mayor Could ‘Go To Jail’ For Obstructing Deportation

Former Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan said Monday night that Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver could “go to jail” if he insisted on obstructing efforts to deport illegal immigrants.

Johnston suggested in a Nov. 21 interview with “The Denverite” that local law enforcement and citizens of Denver could resist efforts by the Trump administration to deport illegal immigrants. Homan, who was recently selected to be President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar in his upcoming administration, referenced 8 USC 1324 (iii), noting Johnston appeared to be willing to commit a felony.

“All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S. and he would see he’s breaking the law. But, look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail, because there is a statute, it’s Title 896 United States Code 1324 (iii),” Homan said. “What it says is, it’s a felony if you knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien from immigration authorities. It is also a felony to impede a federal law enforcement officer. So if he [isn’t going] to help, that’s fine, he can get the hell out of the way. But we are going to go do the job.”

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“President Trump has a mandate for the American people. We’ve got to secure this country and we have to save American lives and I find it shocking that any mayor of the city would say — President Trump has been clear, we want to concentrate on public safety threats and national security threats,” Homan continued. “I find it hard to believe that any mayor or governor would say they don’t want public safety threats removed from their neighborhoods. I mean, I don’t know what the hell is going on in Denver, but we are going to go and we’re going to fix it. If he doesn’t want to fix it, if he doesn’t want to protect his communities, President Trump and ICE will.”

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump highlighted a series of crimes involving illegal immigrants, including the murders of Rachel Morin, Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray and the struggles experienced by the city of Springfield, Ohio after it received an influx of over 20,000 Haitian migrants.

The U.S. Border Patrol encountered over 7.4 million illegal immigrants since the start of fiscal year 2021, according to figures released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).