I’ve stood on the back of a tractor-trailer with 19 dead people at my feet, including a 5-year-old little boy who baked to death. That changed me forever. That’s why I take this personal. — Tom Homan, Border Czar
The border is secure. Fentanyl deaths have fallen off a cliff. The murder rate is the lowest it has been since 1900. The criminal cartels are going bankrupt. And if you only watched mainstream media, you would think this country is collapsing.
On the debut episode of The Homeland, Dean Cain sits down with Border Czar Tom Homan for a wide-ranging conversation about what has actually changed under this administration, why the media refuses to cover it honestly, and what the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol face every single day. Joining Cain in studio are Trey Lindsey, a former SEAL Team Six operator, and Michael Koscielniak, a retired Homeland Security Investigations special agent with 25 years in federal and state law enforcement.
From 15,000 a Day to Less Than 100
The numbers are not a matter of opinion. Under the Biden administration, up to 15,000 illegal aliens were crossing the border daily. Under this administration, that number has dropped below 100. None of them are released into the United States.
“We got the most secure border in the history of the nation ever before, and the data proves it,” Homan said. “Illegal immigration is down 96 percent. When 96 percent less people are coming, how many women aren’t being sexually assaulted making that journey? How many children aren’t dying? How many pounds of fentanyl isn’t getting to the United States to kill Americans?”
The previous administration lost track of over 300,000 children who were smuggled into the country and released to unvetted sponsors. This administration has already located more than 145,000 of them. There is still work to do, but the trajectory is clear.
The Biden Stand-Down Order
Michael Koscielniak served under four administrations in Homeland Security. His assessment of the Biden years is blunt.
“During the Biden administration, ERO and enforcement guys were actually told to stand down, not to enforce immigration laws,” Koscielniak said. “That is massive. I don’t know if people realize that is massive. In order for them to deport somebody, they had to get upper level management approval. And we’re talking about serious hardened criminals.”
The catch-and-release system that followed sent a message to every foreign country on earth: send whoever you want, nothing will happen to them. Millions came. And now this administration is cleaning it up, one arrest at a time.
The Hypocrisy Test
The open border was never about compassion. It was about votes. The team points to the Martha’s Vineyard incident as the clearest proof: the moment illegal immigrants arrived in a wealthy liberal enclave, the National Guard was called and they were removed within hours. Welcome anywhere except my neighborhood.
The National Security Threat Nobody Talks About
The media focuses on lone wolf attacks, and those are a real concern. But Trey Lindsey raised the broader and more dangerous question: how many foreign intelligence officers from Russia, China, and Iran crossed the southern border during the Biden years and are now operating inside the United States?
“With 11 plus million people that came across the border during the Biden administration, we have no clue,” Lindsey said. “To me personally, that’s probably the biggest concern long-term for the sovereignty and safety of the United States. They could be as simple as helping fund some of the protests going on, causing chaos.”
Over 2 million known “got-aways” entered the country during the Biden administration without being fingerprinted, vetted, or processed. They paid more to the cartels specifically to avoid identification. The intelligence community has confirmed that individuals on the terrorist watch list entered by the thousands.
Homan in Minnesota: Smarter Enforcement
President Trump sent Homan to Minnesota after high-profile confrontations between ICE agents and anti-ICE agitators turned violent. Homan met with Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
“You can’t fix a problem if you don’t talk to the other side,” Homan said. “Two weeks later, we have unprecedented cooperation in almost every county jail in the state.”
Minneapolis PD now responds when ICE calls for backup. State troopers and sheriffs are cooperating. Minnesota is, in Homan’s words, “less of a sanctuary state now because of what we did there.” His message to other sanctuary cities is direct: pay attention to what happened in Minnesota, because if you continue releasing public safety threats back into the streets, the federal government will flood your zone with agents.
Playing Offense for the First Time
For decades, the United States fought the war on drugs defensively, waiting for product to arrive at the border. President Trump changed the strategy entirely.
“Instead of playing the home game, let’s play the away game,” Homan said. “Let’s attack them where they operate before they get to our borders. And that’s what he’s doing. These cartels are going bankrupt.”
The Coast Guard is intercepting maritime smuggling. The military is destroying cartel boats in the Caribbean. Intelligence agencies are targeting the financial networks that fund narco-terrorism. Overdose deaths have sharply declined as a direct result. It is the first time the country has played offense at this level, and it is working.
The Human Cost of an Open Border
Homan has been on the front lines since 1984. He started as a Border Patrol agent, climbed the ranks, became the first ICE director to come up through the field, and retired twice before answering the call to serve again.
His stories are not abstractions. He describes standing in a tractor-trailer where 19 people suffocated to death at temperatures reaching 170 degrees, including a five-year-old boy. He describes talking to nine-year-old girls who were raped repeatedly by cartel members as payment for crossing the river. He describes criminal organizations torturing hostages over the phone while relatives listened, demanding smuggling fees.
“Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,” Homan said. “The men and women of ICE and Border Patrol are American patriots. I told them I would have their six till the day I die.”
The Iran Campaign and Domestic Security
The episode closes with an assessment of the ongoing military campaign in Iran, which the team describes as overwhelmingly one-sided in America’s favor. Surgical strikes have destroyed launch capabilities, radar systems, and multiple levels of leadership within weeks.
The team also addresses domestic security concerns in the wake of recent terror attempts, including a foiled synagogue bombing in Michigan. Their advice to Americans: stay vigilant, practice situational awareness, support law enforcement, and exercise your Second Amendment rights responsibly.
The SAVE Act, which would require identification to vote in federal elections, is identified as critical to election integrity heading into the midterms. The team frames it as an 80-85 percent issue that is being blocked purely by partisan calculation.
Watch the full episode on Proud American Studios.
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