Former ICE Director Tom Homan 'honored' to be named Trump's border czar: 'We have to fix it'

Former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan is “honored” to be named the new Trump administration's “border czar,” and he's ready to do what it takes to bring the crisis under control.

“I've been on this network for years complaining about what this administration has done at this border. I've screamed and screamed about it and what they need to do about it. So when the president m 'asked, “Would you like to come?” come back and fix it? Of course, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't. “I'm honored that the president asked me to come back and help resolve this national security crisis, so I look forward to that,” he told “Fox & Friends.” in his first interview since being selected for the role.

“I think the calling is clear,” he continued, “I have to go back and help because every morning…I’m upset about how it feels.” [Biden] the administration made the border the safest I've ever had in my life, so I'm going to go back and do everything I can to fix it.”

Trump announced his decision to recruit Homan for the position in his new administration in an article on Truth Social on Sunday, filling the role currently held by Vice President Kamala Harris.

TRUMP NAMES FORMER ICE DIRECTOR TOM HOMAN AS NEXT 'BORDER TSAR': NO ONE BETTER TO POLICE OUR BORDERS »

Tom Homan, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official in the Trump administration, has been named Trump's border czar for his next administration. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Illegal border crossings have increased under the Biden administration, with nearly 3 million in fiscal year 2024, according to Homeland Security website. There have been more than 10.8 million illegal encounters since fiscal 2021.

Trump has made illegal immigration an integral issue in his campaign message since 2016. During this election cycle, as illegal migrants flooded communities across the United States and marginalized major cities like New York, he offered an alternative vision to that of the Biden-Harris administration: focusing on calls for mass deportation and the construction of a border wall, as well as the reinstatement of executive orders from his previous term, since rescinded.

Homan said this hard border stance would mean prioritizing illegal immigrants who pose threats to public safety or national security. He specifically mentioned drug cartels and sex trafficking.

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U.S. President-elect and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the U.S.-Mexico border on August 22, 2024, south of Sierra Vista, Arizona. Trump will hold a rally in Glendale, Arizona tomorrow. (Rebecca Noble)

“I know exactly what I'm doing, and this is the second time I've come out of retirement for this president, because it's important. I was a Border Patrol agent, I wore this uniform, and I'm proud to have done so. I was an ICE agent. I was the first ICE director to come up through the ranks, so to the 20,000 men and women who worked for me, I didn't ask them to do anything that I wouldn't do myself, because I was one of them,” he said.

Since Friday, Homan has been inundated with calls, texts and emails amid rumors he is returning. Many came from ICE agents who he said were excited about his return.

“But more importantly, thousands of retired officers, retired military [have called] who want to come and volunteer to help this president secure the border and carry out this deportation operation,” Homan added.

However, death threats have also surfaced, but he remains determined not to give in to the pressure.

“This is something we're going to fix. They're not going to silence me. They're not going to make me leave. This is the greatest national security vulnerability this country has seen since 9/11. We we have to fix it.”

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Fox News' Scott McDonald contributed to this report.