Richard Drew/AP

Donald Trump announced Monday that he is sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota to take charge of the chaotic immigration operation that led to the killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good by federal agents. According to Trump, Homan “knows and likes many of the people” in the state, and his arrival comes amid growing criticism—including from some Republicans and conservatives—over the administration’s violent crackdown. The Trump administration also removed hard-right Border Patrol official Greg Bovino from Minnesota.

Homan is being portrayed by many as a less extreme and more professional alternative to the leadership of Bovino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. But these days, Homan is hardly a moderate. Last year, he called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) “the dumbest congresswoman ever” and attempted to enlist the Justice Department to investigate her over her efforts to educate migrants on their constitutional rights. In April, during a speech in Arizona, he waved off concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s tactics were spreading fear, saying that “if you’re in this country illegally, you should be looking over your shoulder.”

For decades, Homan worked at Customs and Border Protection, before being appointed to position at ICE during the Obama administration. He pioneered the use of family separations to deter immigration and helped implement that policy as acting ICE director in the first Trump administration.

Homan left government in 2018 and........

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