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Former Trump official Katie Miller appeared to confuse border czar Tom Homan when she pivoted from his warnings of immigration enforcement “bloodshed” to a game of “would you rather” on the latest episode of her podcast.
Homan has been on a press blitz in recent days, amid protests in multiple states against Immigration and Customs Enforcement after agents carried out two fatal shootings in the span of a week this month.
The border official has been arguing that pointed Democratic criticism of ICE is partly responsible for agents killing civilians because individuals are questioning agents’ authority, prompting tense interactions during operations.
"When they keep hearing this hateful rhetoric that ICE are the Nazis or secret police, there’s going to be that small percentage of crazy people who just need an excuse to do something to harm an ICE agent,” Homan said on the show.
“I said from day one, way back three months into this administration, if the hateful rhetoric continues to increase, there will be bloodshed,” he added. “Unfortunately, I’m right.”
Border czar Tom Homan was warning of immigration ‘bloodshed’ on a recent podcast when the host cut in to play a game of ‘would you rather’ (Getty)
“Well, on that note, we’re going to play a game,” Miller responded. “Would you rather?”
The change in gears caused Homan to pause and offer a brief grunt of affirmation before Miller began asking him questions about what has been the latest time of night President Trump called him and whether he would rather do a TikTok dance with Border Patrol agents or eat unwashed lettuce amid the ongoing parasitic outbreak.
In the case of the recent shootings in Maine and Texas during vehicle stops, individuals involved allegedly appeared to be confused as to what was happening, rather than resisting law enforcement.
After the shooting in Biddeford, Maine, in which an ICE agent killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old father with work authorization, a witness told Reuters he heard the victim tell law enforcement, “I tried to stop.”
ICE is facing protests in multiple states after agents carried out two fatal shootings this month against individuals who weren’t the intended targets of operations (AP)
Meanwhile, the brother of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the 52-year-old Mexican national who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Houston, claims they were unaware that the unmarked cars following them were federal agents. Over the weekend, Homan told CBS Newshe had not seen video evidence that the officers turned on their emergency lights during that operation.
Agents were not wearing body cameras during either the Maine or Texas shootings, despite administration pledges to rapidly equip agents using millions of dollars in recently approved congressional funding.
The Trump administration has blamed Democrat-led government shutdowns for the delay in agents getting body cameras and says all ICE field offices should have them deployed in the next two months.
ICE agents will also be required to wear at least one body camera during most traffic stops, Homan announced on Sunday.