When Tom Homan appeared on Jesse Watters’ show to describe the wave of anti-ICE demonstrations in Charlotte, he didn’t sound surprised — he sounded strategic. Homan made it clear that these protests, while noisy and theatrical, have not derailed federal enforcement and in some ways have reinforced the case for more boots on the ground.
Homan pulled no punches in laying responsibility at the feet of the radical rhetoric coming from partisan politicians, saying the anti-ICE fringe has been emboldened by lawmakers who equate enforcement with evil. That isn’t hand-wringing; it’s a warning that reckless political theater has real-world consequences for public safety and for officers trying to do a dangerous job.
Federal authorities backed up Homan’s point when CBP and ICE descended on Charlotte, making scores of arrests in a matter of days — the kind of decisive action that sends a message Americans actually asked for at the ballot box: enforce the law. The surge of federal agents and the arrests reported in the operation underscored that the federal government will not be bullied into inaction by street theater and moral posturing.
Local left-wing activist networks tried to micromanage and broadcast every federal movement, boasting of early-warning systems and neighborhood patrols meant to intimidate agents and obstruct lawful arrests. That organized resistance has been celebrated by the same people who accuse law-and-order conservatives of being authoritarian — a breathtaking double standard that injured communities already knew about.
Homan’s blunt assessment — that this rhetoric can and does lead fringe elements to escalate from protest to criminality — is a message the press and Democratic officials should finally stop ignoring. We owe our officers the willingness to call out the violent fringe for what it is instead of sanitizing it into a harmless “movement.”
The real scandal here isn’t ICE enforcing the law; it’s the local leaders who posture for headlines while leaving law-abiding citizens and victims of crime vulnerable. If city councils and mayors prefer virtue signaling to cooperation with federal law enforcement, don’t be surprised when Washington answers with more agents and more enforcement — the people want safety, not sanctimony.
Patriots who love law and order should cheer officials who refuse to be intimidated by mobs and ideology. Tom Homan’s message was simple and steady: enforcement will continue because the American people demand secure communities, and no amount of performative outrage will change that reality.
