President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said Monday that federal immigration authorities have set back-to-back monthly records for arrests of illegal immigrants and predicted those figures will continue rising as the administration hires more agents and broadens enforcement efforts nationwide.

Appearing on Greg Kelly Reports on Newsmax, Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement reached an all-time monthly high in June before surpassing that mark again in July.

“June was the highest month in the history of the agency,” Homan said on “Greg Kelly Reports” in reference to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “July, they broke another record, and I expect to break another record in August.”

According to ICE statistics, agents arrested 43,138 illegal immigrants in June, setting a new record for Trump’s second term. Homan said July’s total exceeded even that milestone.

“We’re removing more people — [a] record number of arrests and deportations,” Homan said.

Homan also dismissed criticism from some Trump supporters who argue the administration has not moved aggressively enough on deportations, saying the removal process involves far more than simply locating someone in the country illegally.

“We’ve got to find the alien who doesn’t want to be found,” Homan said. “We’ve got to take them into detention. Then there’s a process. Get travel documents, get orders of removal to remove them. It’s not just a daily thing. It doesn’t happen that easily.”

He said ICE has continued to post record enforcement numbers despite numerous legal and logistical obstacles, including court rulings, sanctuary jurisdictions, and foreign governments that are slow to cooperate by issuing travel documents.

“Despite all that, despite the injunctions, despite the radical judges, despite the sanctuary cities, despite the difficulty in moving aliens to countries that don’t want to give us travel documents, we’re making record historic number of arrests and deportations,” he said.

Even with the recent gains, Homan said he believes the administration can accomplish much more once additional personnel are deployed.

“Am I happy with the number right now? No, I want more, too,” he said. “And as we bring these thousands of more agents on, we expect those numbers to increase, and we’re going to keep fighting.”

Homan added that one of his priorities is expanding immigration enforcement at workplaces to identify and apprehend more illegal immigrants.

He also linked the administration’s immigration enforcement campaign to President Trump’s broader law-and-order initiative in Washington, D.C., saying federal authorities have removed “thousands of illegal aliens” from the nation’s capital, including individuals he described as threats to public safety.

Police data released through Monday showed overall crime in Washington down 20% compared to the same period last year. Homicides have fallen 31%, robberies are down 15%, and vehicle thefts have dropped 53%. However, overall violent crime has increased 3%, driven by a 41% rise in assaults involving dangerous weapons.

Reflecting on conditions in the capital, Homan said he has seen a dramatic improvement.

“I work in the city every day,” Homan said. “I’ve never seen it so clean and so safe again.”

{Matzav.com}