--- title: Acting ICE Head Blames Border Separations on Migrant Parents description: Asked whether he thought Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy was inhumane, acting ICE chief Thomas Homan responded: "it's the law," canonical: https://time.com/5316801/thomas-homan-child-separation-inhumane/ author: Casey Quackenbush article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-20T04:29:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:37:28.418Z article:section: Politics og:title: Acting ICE Chief Blames Migrant Parents for Child Separation og:description: "If you want to blame someone... blame the parents who choose to break the law" og:url: https://time.com/5316801/thomas-homan-child-separation-inhumane/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4afec1b4ca1e28f/698933644ee2626b1131222d/gettyimages-886264880.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Homeland Security Dep't Holds Press Conf. On Border Security And Nat'l Security og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Acting ICE Chief Blames Migrant Parents for Child Separation twitter:description: "If you want to blame someone... blame the parents who choose to break the law" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4afec1b4ca1e28f/698933644ee2626b1131222d/gettyimages-886264880.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Acting Immigration Chief Thomas Homan Blames Immigrant Parents for Border Separations by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Jun 20, 2018 4:29 AM UTC  Thomas Homan, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Washington, DC on Dec. 5, 2017. Thomas Homan, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Washington, DC on Dec. 5, 2017.Drew Angerer—Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Jun 20, 2018 4:29 AM UTC Asked whether he thought President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy was inhumane, acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan responded that “it’s the law,” and parents who bring their children across the border illegally are to blame for families being separated. In an interview on CNN’s “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer, Homan [evaded a question](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/19/politics/ice-border-trump-family-separation-humane-cnntv) about the policy’s ethics and said that, “I think it’s the law, and I’m in law enforcement so I must follow the law.” “That’s our job,” Homan added. “Our job is to enforce the law. We don’t get to pick and choose what we do… Every police officer sees sad things, but we still gotta do this job.” Homan went on to say that it is the parents who put their children in the hands of criminal smugglers that are “inhumane.” “If you want to blame someone for separating families, blame the parents who choose to break the law,” Homan said. The Trump Administration has come under heavy criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike over its policy of separating children — including babies — from parents accused of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The policy has seen more than 2,000 children removed from their parents’ care and temporarily moved to government-run facilities or foster care. 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