(NewsNation) — The nation’s incoming border leader Tom Homan is heading to Texas, where’s expected to tour the southern border with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
They’ll be in Eagle Pass on Tuesday, which has been a focus of the state’s Operation Lone Star program.
Abbott says Homan is the man for the job — and so does President-elect Donald Trump, who appointed him Homan to the position.
Touring the border
Homan and Abbott will begin their tour at a Texas military base along the banks of the Rio Grande.
Border officials say migrant crossings are down thanks to seasonal trends, federal executive action and Operation Lone Star.
“Priorities for the mass deportation operation are public safety threats and national security threats, Homan said.
He’ll be visiting National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers stationed on the border in areas like Edinburg. It’s a region Ron Vitello, a former U.S. Border Patrol chief and retired Immigration and Customs Enforcement director knows firsthand.
“It’s well known for drug trafficking,” Vitello said. “It has, for generations, been a place where cartels have elected used to smuggle a lot of drugs.”
Land for mass deportations
In that same well-known area, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham is hosting a “border wall construction kick-off” event.
Buckingham is offering a 1,400-acre ranch to the incoming Trump administration for mass deportation facilities.
“We think it’s so important for our communities to shut down this trafficking this mass migration of illegal immigrants and get our community safe again,” she said.
Homan has promised drastic changes in U.S. border security, including mass deportations on day one of the Trump administration.
