White House border czar Tom Homan forcefully rejected Senator Chris Murphy’s accusation that ICE officers were detaining parents at school bus stops “just to terrorize little kids,” calling it a political attack divorced from the agency’s real work.
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Tom Homan addressed claims made by Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in Danbury, Connecticut. Murphy had posted on X that ICE agents were “targeting parents sitting at school bus stops just to terrorize little kids.” Homan, pressed by host Dana Bash, said the charge was pure politics, not reality.
“ICE isn’t in the business of terrorizing children. That’s just political fire,” Homan said, denying that the agency targets children or their parents out of malice. He described ICE’s mission as enforcing the law Congress passed and focusing on individuals with final orders of removal, overstayers, and those with criminal records. When Bash asked directly if ICE officers were detaining parents at bus stops, Homan responded, “We’re not out there to terrorize children. We’re out there to look for illegal aliens with final orders of removal, those who overstayed, those that are criminals, and we’re out there looking for them and arresting them.”
Homan made it clear he sees such public claims as part of a broader pattern of mischaracterizing ICE and stirring up public anger for political gain. “That’s just a political statement made to enrage the American people,” he said of Murphy’s accusation. He also blamed “hateful rhetoric and mischaracterization of what ICE does” for what he described as a surge in threats and assaults against ICE officers. “Assaults against ICE officers are up over 9,000%, the threats, and no other law enforcement agency in the world has that percentage of increase in threats,” Homan stated.
Senator Murphy’s claim, made in a social media post, painted a picture of ICE agents waiting at Danbury school bus stops to arrest parents in front of children. The allegation, repeated by CNN’s Dana Bash, was met with skepticism and a point-blank denial by Homan. The Daily Caller News Foundation sought comment from Murphy’s office, but as of publication, there was no response.
Homan did not deny that some parents might be among those arrested by ICE, but he underscored that the agency’s focus is on enforcing immigration law, not traumatizing children. “Are some parents? I’m sure many are. But we’re not out there to terrorize children,” he said. Instead, he argued that the Democrat’s claims inflame tensions and increase risks for officers doing their jobs.
Broader Democratic attacks on ICE and border enforcement have become a recurring theme in Senate politics. As seen in recent battles over Pentagon funding and law enforcement priorities, such as the Senate Democrats’ blockade of the $1.15 trillion defense bill, the party’s leadership has often been at odds over how far to push anti-enforcement rhetoric.
Homan argued that Murphy’s claims are just the latest example of what he sees as a broader pattern: dramatic accusations against ICE that prove unsupported on closer examination. He referenced past controversies, such as protests over alleged hunger strikes and mistreatment at the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. “Delaney Hall was a big story. Everybody’s protesting up in Newark on Delaney Hall, said there was a hunger strike. People weren’t eating at the cafeteria, but they’re eating in the commissary. And no one was missing medication,” Homan said. He asserted that such stories are rarely corrected when proven false, stating, “No one ever says, ‘OK, we were wrong. There actually wasn’t a hunger strike. There wasn’t actually mistreatment at that facility.’”
He also disputed claims about ICE officers arresting a father “while buying diapers,” explaining, “No, he was arrested at a jail, and he was there for domestic violence charges.” For Homan, these examples illustrate how “all these false stories come out, and people buy off on them, and no one ever covers that.”
Murphy’s accusation landed amid ongoing Democratic efforts to weaken enforcement agencies and, in some corners, calls to abolish ICE altogether. Earlier this year, more than 100 DSA-aligned Democrats pushed Senate leaders to support abolishing the agency, sparking a fierce internal fight in the party over immigration and law enforcement priorities. For more on that internal debate, see Democratic efforts to abolish ICE.
The battle over ICE’s reputation and mission is just one front in a much broader political struggle. Friction between establishment Democrats and the party’s activist wing, already on display in Senate leadership clashes like the Warren-Schumer feud over the party’s direction, has spilled over into immigration. Rhetoric that paints frontline law enforcement as villains serves a political purpose, but Homan’s rebuttal highlights the consequences for those on the ground, including a surge in threats and violence against officers.
As the Senate continues to fracture over border security, law enforcement, and executive authority, seen again in high-stakes votes like the Senate Republicans’ block of Democratic Iran war powers legislation, the cost of inflammatory statements grows. Homan’s warning about the real-world impact of political rhetoric stands in stark contrast to Murphy’s uncorroborated accusations.
In today’s climate, the loudest critics often face no consequences when their claims fall apart, while the men and women tasked with enforcing the law are left to shoulder the risks and the blame.