EL PASO, Texas \u2014 White House Border Czar Tom Homan\u2019s visit to the University of Texas at El Paso on Thursday sparked both enthusiastic support and vocal opposition, turning the campus into a divided scene over immigration policy.<\/p>\n
Homan spoke at an event hosted by Turning Point USA, where organizers say roughly 500 people filled the auditorium to hear his remarks. Inside, he delivered a sharp message on illegal immigration, calling for stricter enforcement and defending the administration\u2019s approach along the southern border.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the University of Texas at El Paso, we are not sending the message to the whole world that it\u2019s ok to enter illegally\u2026 when you cross the border illegally, you are a cheater and put yourself in front of the line of millions who are doing it the right way,\u201d Homan said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
While Homan addressed the crowd indoors, dozens of protesters gathered outside the venue. Demonstrators, many of them students and local immigrants\u2019 rights advocates, criticized his role in shaping federal immigration enforcement and the impact they believe his policies have had on families in the borderland.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is the one promoting this idea that it is okay to deport U.S. citizen children. We believe that message is not necessarily welcome in El Paso or in UTEP,\u201d said Fernando Garc\u00eda, Director of the Border Network for Human Rights.<\/p>\n
Supporters inside the auditorium said they attended because they view Homan as a knowledgeable and credible voice on immigration law.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is very, very knowledgeable about all aspects of immigration law. I like to hear him talk because he comes from a very informed opinion,\u201d said attendee Andy Bucker.<\/p>\n
Some UTEP students voiced discomfort with the visit, noting that the university is majority Hispanic and in a community deeply connected to the immigrant experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very troubling that Tom Homan has come here to speak because this is a majority-Hispanic university. Under Tom Homan\u2019s leadership, most of our students here could be targeted by ICE regardless of their immigration status,\u201d said UTEP student Naomi Reese.<\/p>\n
The event concluded with both sides standing firm in their viewpoints. Supporters argued that open discussion is essential, while critics insisted that Homan\u2019s presence sends a harmful message to immigrant communities on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn El Paso, I would rather see protesters come in and engage in a respectful manner so people can learn,\u201d Bucker said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Homan\u2019s visit underscored the ongoing divide in El Paso over immigration policy, reflecting broader national debates playing out across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas \u2014 White House Border Czar Tom Homan\u2019s visit to the University of Texas at El…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77832,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[132,1570,102,138,140,139,25382,1724,8074,223,82,1569,835],"class_list":["post-77831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-austin","tag-ctv","tag-dallas","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-from-the-border","tag-immigration","tag-luis-garcia","tag-news","tag-san-antonio","tag-texas-what-you-need-to-know","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}