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Former acting ICE Director and current White House Border Czar Tom Homan blasted congressional Democrats over the ongoing Department of Homeland Security funding standoff, accusing lawmakers of trying to strong-arm policy changes by withholding funding.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union,\u201d Homan said the dispute is not about budgetary constraints, but about efforts to curb immigration enforcement.<\/span><\/p>\n WATCH:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump wants the entire @DHSgov<\/a> funded,\u201d says @RealTomHoman<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re holding the department hostage because they don\u2019t like what ICE is doing \u2014 and ICE is enforcing laws they enacted.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/bMDcSIJ7IB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cPresident Donald Trump wants the entire Department of Homeland Security funded. He wants the government open and funded,\u201d Homan said. \u201cBut the bottom line is they want changes in ICE tactics. They want changes in policy.\u201d Homan argued that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is simply carrying out laws that have remained consistent across multiple administrations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe same laws ICE follows today have been in place during the Clinton, Obama [administrations], and now,\u201d he said. \u201cThe law hasn\u2019t changed.\u201d According to Homan, lawmakers are privately pushing to limit arrests rather than openly advocating for abolishing ICE.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey can say they don\u2019t want to abolish ICE \u2014 I\u2019m in the room,\u201d he said. \u201cThey want to change operations so we arrest fewer people.\u201d The remarks come as Congress remains locked in a dispute over DHS funding, with negotiations increasingly tied to immigration enforcement demands. Some lawmakers have pushed for additional oversight measures and operational restrictions, including expanded use of body cameras and clearer guidelines around enforcement locations.<\/span><\/p>\n Homan noted that ICE has already engaged in discussions on some of those issues, including funding for body cameras, which he said has been allocated at roughly $120 million. But he rejected claims that agents are routinely targeting sensitive locations such as churches or hospitals.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey can\u2019t point to a single instance\u2014not one\u2014where we\u2019ve arrested anybody in a church or inside of a hospital,\u201d Homan said. \u201cWe already practice discretion. We don\u2019t do operations there unless there\u2019s a significant national security threat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He added that while discussions over enforcement practices could continue, they should not come at the expense of funding the department. \u201cWhy can\u2019t these discussions continue while we keep the Department of Homeland Security open?\u201d Homan said. \u201cThey\u2019re holding the department hostage because they don\u2019t like what ICE is doing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n At the center of the dispute is a fundamental divide between the House and Senate over whether immigration enforcement agencies should be fully funded. The Senate passed a bipartisan measure to reopen most of DHS but excluded funding for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection, an approach backed by Democrats but rejected by House Republicans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n House Republicans instead pushed a short-term <\/span>funding bill<\/span><\/a> that includes full funding for ICE, arguing that enforcement agencies should not be carved out of appropriations. That measure passed narrowly but faces strong opposition in the Senate, prolonging the stalemate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The deadlock has had tangible consequences across the country. Tens of thousands of DHS employees, particularly Transportation Security Administration workers, have gone without pay for weeks, leading to staffing shortages, airport delays, and mounting pressure on the administration to act.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n President Trump has attempted to mitigate the fallout by signing an emergency order to ensure TSA agents receive pay, which Homan later <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> during the interview \u201c<\/span>There is a plan to get these TSA agents paid, hopefully by tomorrow or Tuesday,\u201d <\/span>but many other DHS functions remain affected as lawmakers continue to clash over immigration policy and enforcement reforms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Democrats have insisted that any long-term funding deal must include new restrictions or oversight on ICE operations, while Republicans argue that such demands amount to undermining existing law enforcement authority, mirroring the criticism Homan leveled in his interview.<\/span><\/p>\n Homan framed the dispute as a fundamental separation-of-powers issue, arguing that Congress should change the law if it disagrees with enforcement outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf they don\u2019t like what ICE is doing, then change the law,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s their job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As negotiations continue, the standoff underscores a broader clash in Washington over immigration enforcement, one that is increasingly spilling into funding battles with real consequences for federal agencies and the everyday Americans they employ.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n