White House border czar Tom Homan reportedly pushed back Sunday on allegations that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested parents at school bus stops in Connecticut, saying he was unaware of any such operation.
Homan responded after Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., claimed ICE agents detained parents near bus stops in Danbury, leaving children unable to find their parents after returning from school.
“I pointed out, the last two years, no one can point to one single incidence we arrested anybody in elementary school,” Homan told CNN host Dana Bash during an appearance on “State of the Union.”
“We haven’t arrested anybody in the hospital. We haven’t arrested anybody in the church. ICE is real good at their job,” he continued.
Homan said he did not know whether agents had arrested someone at a bus stop but defended ICE’s responsibility to enforce federal immigration law against individuals ordered to leave the country.
“Now, did they arrest somebody at a bus stop? I’m not aware of that, but ICE is out there to enforce law against those that have been ordered removed by a federal judge,” Homan said.
“And especially if they’re a criminal or if they’re a national security threat, there’s no safe harbor for them in this country,” he added.
Murphy raised the allegation Wednesday in a post on the social platform X, writing that “ICE was arresting parents at school bus stops” in Danbury.
The Democratic senator claimed agents deliberately waited until children had boarded their buses before taking their parents into custody.
“But it’s more sinister,” Murphy wrote. “ICE waited until the kids were on the bus so when they are dropped off at the end of the day, they are alone, scared to death they can’t find their parents.”
“I’m heading to Danbury,” he added.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, also a Democrat, addressed the allegations Thursday in a separate post on X. Lamont said he was “horrified by the stories shared by activists in Danbury.”
“Parents detained dropping their children off at the school bus. 3 year old children watching ICE forcibly detain someone outside their daycare window,” Lamont wrote.
“Rounding up people at random to meet a quota doesn’t make our communities safer,” the governor added.
President Donald Trump’s administration has encountered fierce opposition over its strict immigration enforcement policies throughout his second term.
The backlash intensified earlier this year after two U.S. citizens were killed in Minneapolis by federal immigration authorities. Additional people have since been killed during confrontations involving immigration enforcement officials in other states, including Maine and Texas.
Homan, however, maintained that ICE agents are carrying out their responsibilities and targeting people subject to federal removal orders, particularly criminals and national security threats.
