In an emotional appearance on The Shawn Ryan Show, Border Czar Tom Homan opened up about two human trafficking cases that left a permanent scar on his heart—and continue to fuel his fierce advocacy for strong immigration enforcement.
Appointed by President Donald Trump as border czar in November 2024, Homan recounted an encounter with a nine-year-old girl who had been repeatedly raped by members of a cartel. Fighting back tears, he recalled kneeling beside her during an interview. “Everything innocent, pure, even has been ripped from her,” he said. “You can tell that she has no faith in humanity. She’s never gonna be the same.”
That trauma, Homan explained, is what motivates his outspoken defense of Trump’s policies. Critics, he said, often miss the devastating realities he’s witnessed firsthand.
He then shifted to another case that shook him deeply—one that took place in 2003 in Victoria, Texas. Homan had been giving a speech when he received an urgent call. A tractor trailer had been discovered filled with migrants who had died from heat exposure. Nineteen people lost their lives in that trailer.
“I walked up to the scene and saw several bodies on the ground,” Homan said, describing how the victims had collapsed when the trailer doors were finally opened. Inside, many were found in their underwear, desperate for relief from the heat.
He fixated on one small boy, partially covered by his father’s body. “He was wearing the same underwear my five-year-old son had,” Homan said, voice cracking. “That stuck with me.”
The emotional toll of these events, he said, is why he takes criticism of border enforcement personally. “People accuse me of not caring about children,” he said. “But I’ve seen dead children. I’ve held their hands. I’ve prayed over their bodies.”
Homan said his experience drives his passion. “You can talk policy all day long, but I’ve seen the consequences of doing nothing. And I’ll never forget it.”