Border czar Tom Homan assured that Washington "is not going to be a sanctuary city" as long as it is under federal control

President Donald Trump administration border czar Tom Homan commented Wednesday during an interview on Fox News that the city of Washington, DC, will cease to function as a sanctuary city as long as the city's police remain under federal control. Likewise, Homan explained that instead, police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will work together to apprehend criminal immigrants and bring them to justice.

"I think D.C. under federal control is not going to be a sanctuary city. We’re working with the police hand-in-hand, and when we encounter criminal illegal aliens, they’ll be turned over to ICE. I’m not saying every illegal alien in D.C. is a criminal, but many are. So these are the people we’re going to focus on. [The] illegal alien criminal safety threat in D.C. is not going to be protected. There’s no sanctuary for these people in the city of D.C.," Homan said.

The border czar's words came a day after Trump sent the first National Guard units to the nation's capital, as part of a deployment ordered by the Republican leader to reinforce the city, which has been experiencing in recent years a worrying wave of violence that has been denounced by federal authorities. The operation would be covered by the invocation of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which grants the president in office the legal capacity to assume control of the Metropolitan Police for a maximum period of 30 dayss. Despite this, the White House has not ruled out the possibility of extending this deadline.

According to the Pentagon, the president's plan calls for the mobilization of some 850 police agents and officers, as well as 800 soldiers.