Border czar Tom Homan revealed in an exclusive sit-down with Post columnist Miranda Devine that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were originally sent to Los Angeles as part of a crackdown on sources of drug cartel funding — before the city descended into riots and looting.
In a new episode of “Pod Force One,” Homan disclosed that this month’s Los Angeles clashes over ICE enforcement came after officers had served criminal arrest warrants for “money laundering, tax evasion” and other cartel-linked crimes — and rounded up “child sexual predators, rapists, [and] murderers.”
“There is [a] strong suspicion that some of that funding is sent to Mexico and Colombia to fund cartel activity,” Homan told Devine of the underlying criminal probe.
“It was a criminal operation, a criminal investigation and criminal search warrant,” the border czar said, referencing “millions of dollars” in potential cartel revenue. “But right away, the left went nuts.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, denounced the ICE raids that resulted in the apprehension of more than 100 illegal migrants – including five gang members and others with past criminal charges of assault, cruelty to children and robbery.
“Everybody talked about the racist ICE, even members of Congress and yeah, Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass,” Homan recalled on the podcast. “The truth was, look at who we arrested. Look at the warrants we served.”
Newsom, in a primetime address posted to his X account June 11, denounced what he called “large-scale workplace raids” by the Trump administration, which he said were “targeting hardworking immigrant families.”
“In response, everyday Angelinos came out to exercise their Constitutional right to free speech and assembly, to protest their government’s actions,” the governor added. “In turn, the State of California and the City and County of Los Angeles sent our police officers to help keep the peace and, with some exceptions, they were successful.”
The riots will end up costing Los Angeles taxpayers as much as $20 million for police overtime and repairs to damaged city property, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Trump initially dispatched 2,000 California National Guard members to restore order — as photos and video of rioters waving Mexican flags and setting fire to cop cars rocketed around social media — in a move that Newsom also denounced in his video message as a “brazen abuse of power.”
Newsom’s administration later sued Trump for deploying the Guard members, but an appeals court ruled in favor of the Republican administration.
Homan himself caused controversy by suggesting that Newsom and Bass had opened themselves up to possible criminal prosecution for allegedly thwarting federal law enforcement operations.
“We’re trying to shut down cartel activity, which is killing Americans. We’re trying to take the worst of the worst off the streets of LA,” the border czar told Devine.
“You would think the mayor and the governor … will say … ‘Thank you for making our state safer,’ because every criminal threat we take off the streets of LA makes that city more safe,” Homan added.
“Protest all you want,” he warned. “We have teams out in LA today, we’ll have teams out in LA tomorrow. We’re going to keep doing … what we’re doing. You’re not gonna stop us.”
