President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan warned illegal aliens that they need to either self-deport or face arrest from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
During a White House press briefing, Homan said that “[Y]ou cannot hide from ICE.”
“We are actively looking for you. Federal law requires every alien in the United States who has been present in the United States for more than 30 days needs to register. For those 14 years or older, you need to be fingerprinted with the Department of Homeland Security. Federal law requires every alien in the United States to tell DHS in writing if you have a change of address within 10 days of changing that address. Failing to register with DHS and failure to tell DHS about your new address are criminal offenses and will be treated as such,” Homan said.
“Starting today, make no mistake, if you are in the country illegally and you failed to do what the law requires, we will prosecute you, you will go to jail, and we will deport you,” Homan continued.
The Trump administration “is committed to enforcing our immigration laws, especially for those aliens who have received final orders of deportation,” Homan emphasized, adding that illegal aliens need to get their “affairs in order.”
“There are currently around 1.4 million illegal aliens who have been ordered removed but remain here in violation of the law. We will aggressively prosecute consistent with long-standing law those aliens for failing or refusing to depart or who takes other related actions aimed at hindering their removal. … If you fail to leave the United States after receiving a removal order, we can and will issue monetary fines up to $998 a day. Evading your arrest, knowing you have a final order of removal, is a criminal offense. We will prosecute, then we will deport you,” Homan said. “Get your affairs in order. If you are in the country illegally, work with ICE, go to the CBP One Home app and leave on your own. Because if we have to find you, deport you, and prosecute you, you will have a bar placed on you and you won't come back to this country. You won't be able to come back on a business visa, tourist visa. If you have a U.S. citizen child, [he or she] can't petition for you. If you are in this country illegally, get your affairs in order and work with us and get yourself removed from this country. That is what the law requires, and we're going to enforce that law.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem gave a similar message to illegal aliens, saying that people here illegally can self-deport and have the chance to come back legally. But “if you have to wait until we deport you, you will never return," she said.