CLAY: We are joined now by Tom Homan who is the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He’s worked in border security and immigration enforcement for 35 years, now a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. And let’s just dive right into it, Tom. You’ve been doing this for 35 years. How would you assess the current state of the southern border compared to historically what you have seen over the past 35 years?

HOMAN: This is by far the worst we’ve ever seen, and what’s the most disgusting about it is we went from the most secure border in my lifetime under President Trump to a historic illegal immigration crisis. Look, the numbers aren’t officially out yet, but my source in CBP says a total of 240,000 entered our country this year, were encountered — 240,000 between the Border Patrol and port of entries. That is a record in the history of this nation.

BUCK: That’s just last month, right, Tom?

HOMAN: Yeah! And that’s a record for this nation. We haven’t seen a number that high since they’ve been keeping records. So these people have been in power for 16 months, almost 17 months, and it’s getting worse which, again, is just evidence they’re not doing a single thing to slow the flow and enforce the law. It’s all about processing quicker and releasing quicker which only brings more.

BUCK: Tom, I know that you know a lot of folks in the border still and there’s border members I can tell you who listen to this show day in and day out. We’re honored to keep them company as their doing their job — very critical national security job — down at the border, and I’m sure you’ve seen this report out that the Biden administration is planning “administrative punishment” for the mounted Border Patrol members who are maligned in the media as whipping Haitian migrants.

That did not occur. The photographer there who took the photos said, “They didn’t whip anybody. They were using split reins on horses.” So what do you think is actually going on here, and what are your expectations for what this administrative punishment for Border Patrol members could be for not whipping anybody but people lying about that initially?

HOMAN: First of all, I love the Border Patrol. I started my career as a Border Patrol agent in 1984, probably the proudest years of my life just putting that uniform on. And look, these women have been abandoned by their president, they’ve been abandoned by the secretary of Homeland Security — who to this day says the border is secure — and these men and women wearing the green uniform. are busting their butts 24/7 dealing with this intentional crisis created by the Biden administration. And look, I saw that video. Within five minutes I said, “They did nothing wrong.”

I know the rules of engagement these officers did as trained, the horses performed as trained, just like they are trained in New York City for crowd control. It’s obvious they didn’t whip anybody but look the president threw him under the bus and said thee pay for whipping people. The secretary of Homeland Security says they train horses to attack children. The vice president, so-called border czar, attacked them, members of Congress. And look, they can’t walk that back, so certainly they’re gonna find the investigation no whipping occurred.

But they gotta do something! They can’t embarrass the president and the secretary. They gotta come up with something. They’re gonna come up with some administrative charge, maybe one officer used bad language. Who knows? But you know what? These men and women are getting their butts beat every day. These men and women working 24/7 putting their lives on the line for a president who could give two cents about them. So they get frustrated. So if they use a bad word? God bless ’em. We all use bad words.

But they’re putting their lives on the line for this nation every damn day, and they’re being attacked by this administration as being racist and white nationalist and they violate the civil rights of illegal aliens. Look, the only people did anything wrong that day were the Haitians who entered the country illegally, which is a crime, and they ignored verbal orders from a federal agent, which is also a crime. But no one talks about who is wrong but the Haitian migrants, you know, violating the law. They’re gonna find some rinky-dink administrative charge using a bad word or whatever to, ’cause they want to save face. They want to able to save the embarrassment of the president saying these people will pay.

CLAY: Tom, you’ve been covering the border — and that was well said, by the way — for the past 35 years. You’ve been as plugged in as anybody. We’re in a baby formula shortage. People can’t find it in grocery stores. Yet there is reportedly plenty of baby formula available for illegals crossing into the country. When you hear a story like that, what’s your reaction?

HOMAN: I’m disgusted. Look, it’s the same thing. Do you know they’re moving medical professionals out of the Veterans Administration who care for our wounded veterans our national heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice or are severely harmed defending this country. They’re taking medical professionals out of veterans hospitals sending down to care for people. I understand we’re responsible for the care and treatment of those in our custody, but if they would go back to the Trump administration policy like Remain in Mexico and actually use Title 42 as it’s meant to be used, we wouldn’t need baby formula down there!

We wouldn’t need to take doctors and nurses out of the VA hospital because we wouldn’t have a border crisis. Again, a man-made crisis, and the result of it is Joe Biden says, “Well, our policy is much more humane.” Oh, really? We have more Americans died from drug overdose than at any time in the history of this nation because the border is out of control and fentanyl flowing across the border. We got 70% of the Border Patrol changing diapers and making baby formula. We got the most you migrants died on U.S. soil in the history of this nation, 700. How is that humane?

Back-to-back groups of over 100. That is what agents of the Brackettville station encountered on Sunday.
Only 12 hours apart, agents saw a group of 106 followed by one of 135.
DYK: The Del Rio Sector accounts for nearly 50% of all “large group” apprehensions. pic.twitter.com/Rd462ZiTsJ

— Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens (@USBPChiefDRT) June 15, 2022

A record number of women and children being sex trafficking across that open border. How is that humane? Cartels making billions of dollars. The same cartels are poisoning Americans who actually murdered a border patrol agent. How is that humane? Let me tell you something about Trump, who I’m honored to work for. When he had border security at an all-time high, when illegal immigration was down 83% to 90%, at a 35-, 40-year low, how many women didn’t get raped by the cartels, how many children didn’t drown in that river, how many Americans didn’t die of drug overdoses? President Trump’s policies saved lives and Joe Biden’s policies are killing people.

CLAY: Tom, I wish we had you at the border right now implementing Donald Trump’s policies, like almost every single person listening to us right now. We appreciate the time. We appreciate everything you did to help make the border safe.

HOMAN: 2024, I’ll go back there free. We’ll fix it.

BUCK: We’ll help you, Tom. We’ll help you. Thanks so much, buddy. Appreciate you joining us.

CLAY: Absolutely love it. That is Tom Homan, and I hope he’s back there in 2024, free or not.