Border Czar Tom Homan appeared on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher over the weekend, where he engaged in a lengthy exchange with host Bill Maher about illegal immigration and U.S. enforcement policies.
The discussion centered on whether the United States should grant amnesty to millions of individuals already in the country illegally.
Maher raised the issue by asking Homan why immigration authorities could not take a more lenient approach toward those residing unlawfully in the U.S. Homan responded by emphasizing the importance of consequences for illegal entry.
“What I’m saying is, that’s why you have to show there’s consequences,” Homan said.
“Because if you send a message there’s no consequences, and you want to reward illegal behavior, that’s not going to stop.”
Maher countered with concerns about enforcement actions that have affected long-time residents.
“But what we also see is people being just taken away who are just regular-day workers,” Maher said.
“The waitress who worked for 14 years at some coffee shop. And everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you know what? We voted to get rid of the bad people, you know, the people you were just talking about, but not Carol. What’s going on there?’ Don’t you think it’s been a little heavy-handed? Don’t you think you’ve picked up a bunch of people who shouldn’t be picked up at all? It doesn’t seem like it was done with a scalpel.”
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Homan replied by explaining that while enforcement prioritizes criminals, anyone in the country illegally is still subject to removal.
“What I think about every day is, again, we prioritize the worst first, and the numbers show we do it,” Homan said.
“What I’ve said from day one, if you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table. You know why? Because there are millions of people standing in line, taking their tests, doing the background investigations, paying their fees to be part of the greatest nation on earth. If you want to be a part of greatest nation, there’s a right way and wrong way to do it. If like it or not, the ones who are here illegally cheated the system.”
He continued by describing the broader impact on the immigration system.
“They moved themselves to the front of the line and they’ve overwhelmed the immigration court system back nine, ten years, which means the people who are really trying to come here the right way are sitting in the back of the bus, right? It’s just like—but people don’t talk about these 10 million, 10.5 million who came to the border under Biden. Well, they’re asylum seekers. What people don’t understand, if you look at immigration court data over the last 10 years, nearly nine out of 10 of them will get an order of removal because they don’t qualify for support asylum. They’re not escaping fear and persecution from their home government because of race, religion, and political affiliation. They’re coming here for a better life and I get that. But while they’re clogging up the system and cheating the system, there are literally thousands of people in this world that really are escaping fear and persecution from their home countries that are sitting in the back of the bus.”
Homan concluded by stressing that immigration enforcement is grounded in existing law.
“So there, there’s a reason we’re a nation of laws,” he said.
“And if people don’t like what ICE is doing, they go scream at Congress. We’re enforcing the law ’cause they enacted it.”
NEW: Tom Homan tells Bill Maher why “AMNESTY” not an option to conclude interview — and crowd *APPLAUDS* him
HOMAN: “If you want to send a message to the whole world: ‘Cross the border illegally, it’s a crime, but it’s okay. Have due process, get ordered removed by an… pic.twitter.com/hmCFBZpsCI
— Jason Cohen (@JasonJournoDC) September 20, 2025
The exchange drew applause from Maher’s audience, a response that highlighted the weight of Homan’s arguments on immigration enforcement.
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