The migrant caravan at the U.S.-Mexico border consists of mostly men who are not "true asylum seekers," former Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan said Monday, adding that he agrees with President Donald Trump's threat to shut down the border if Mexico doesn't deport the migrants back to their home countries.
"We've got to look at the facts here. A minority of this caravan -- a small minority -- is actually family members, women and children," Homan told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
"Most of them are adult males."
He also accused people who are coordinating the caravan of intentionally displaying women and children to "pull the heartstrings of America," and said the media is playing along.
"This is a vast majority of males seeking employment in the United States, not women and children," said Homan.
This past weekend, hundreds of migrants attempted to rush the border at the San Ysidro, Calif., port of entry, and Border Patrol agents shot rounds of tear gas after migrants threw rocks and bottles at them.
"I've said many times I certainly feel bad for the plight of these people, but they're not true asylum seekers," said Homan. "You've seen them, they're carrying signs, 'I want a job.' That doesn't qualify for asylum."
He said he understands that the migrants want to be part of the United States, "but there's a legal way to do it. And they're not following the legal process. They're using the asylum system which harms real, true asylum seekers that really are escaping fear and persecution."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.