Politics

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump signed four executive orders on Monday that reverse several Biden administration initiatives related to the military and deliver on promises he made on the campaign trail.

Trump signed the orders while onboard Air Force One, White House staff secretary Will Scharf told reporters.

“First is an executive order, as he alluded to in his speech earlier, reinstating members of the military who were terminated or forced to separate because of the vaccine mandates. The second item was an executive order establishing a process to develop what we’re calling an American Iron Dome; a comprehensive missile defense shield to land the American homeland,” Scharf said.

“The third executive order that President Trump signed relates to eliminating gender radicalism in the military, and the fourth is about eliminating DEI set asides and DEI offices within the military,” Scharf added.

In addition those items, Trump signed a proclamation commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Reinstating military members who refused vaccinations

Trump signed an order directing the secretary of defense to “reinstate service members who were dismissed for refusing the COVID vaccine, with full back pay and benefits,” according to the White House.

The fact sheet on the order estimates that more than 8,000 troops were discharged between 2021 and 2023 following the Biden administration’s policy requiring vaccinations for service members. The order adds that the discharged military personnel will “receive their former rank.”

In August 2021, then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for all military personnel. The fact sheet said that the decision was made in “spite of the scientific evidence,” and added that it led to the discharge “healthy service members — many of whom had natural immunity and dedicated their entire lives to serving our country.”

The White House also says the vaccine mandate had a “chilling effect on recruitment,” noting that the Department of Defense fell 41,000 recruits short of its fiscal year 2023 recruiting goals.

Service members were given the opportunity to rejoin the military in 2023 when the vaccine mandate was rescinded, but the White House fact sheet said that only 43 service members elected to do that. The issue of full back pay is complex and would likely require congressional approval.

The order follows one of Trump’s promises from his speech on Inauguration Day, when he said he would make this move shortly after he was sworn in.

Transgender service members

Trump signed an order directing the Department of Defense to update its guidance “regarding trans-identifying medical standards for military service and to rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.”

The order will require DOD to update all medical standards “to ensure they prioritize readiness and lethality.”

The order will also end the use of pronouns in the Department of Defense and will also prohibit males from “sharing sleeping, changing, or bathing in facilities designated for females.”

Last week, Trump revoked a Biden administration order allowing transgender people to serve in the military. In 2016, the Pentagon under then-President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on transgender people serving in the armed forces. But in 2017, Trump announced on what was then Twitter that transgender service members would no longer be able to serve openly in the armed forces, citing concerns over costs and readiness. The policy was implemented in 2019 and required transgender service members to serve in line with their biological sex unless they had already successfully transitioned or were grandfathered in under the Obama-era policy.

In 2021, the Trump policy was reversed under the Biden administration, allowing transgender service members to again serve openly and access related medical care.

“This change to the standards meant that men and women could join the military for the express purpose of transitioning, be nondeployable for a year, and take life-altering hormone therapy that would mean they would be nondeployable unless the military could guarantee the supply of medication,” now-Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said of the changes under Biden in one of his books.

Iron Dome

Trump has now officially begun the process of creating “the Iron Dome for America,” a nod to the Israeli missile defense system.

The order “directs implementation of a next generation missile defense shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next generation aerial attacks,” according to a fact sheet obtained by ABC News.

There are very few details about how this type of a system would be developed. There are no details in the fact sheet on a timeline for creating such a system, nor any mention of cost to construct it.

The order follows through on a pledge Trump made a number of times on the campaign trail.

“Americans deserve an Iron Dome and that’s what we’re gonna have we’re gonna have an Iron Dome,” Trump said during an New Hampshire rally in October 2023.

As ABC has previously reported, experts say replicating an Iron Dome system for the U.S. wouldn’t make much sense, given the U.S. has allies to the north and south, and oceans on either side.

Banning DEI

Another order that Trump signed takes aim at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. The order will ban the use of “discriminatory race- or sex-based preferences,” according to a fact sheet about the move.

The order directs Hegseth to internally review cases of “race- or sex-based discrimination” based on past DEI policies and requires DOD and DHS to review curriculum to “eliminate radical DEI and gender ideologies.”

The fact sheet adds that Trump is committed to a merit-based system with “sex-neutral policies and colorblind recruitment, promotion, and retention.” It blamed the so-called “‘woke’ assault” for the military’s flagging recruitment numbers.

This is just the latest of actions the Trump administration has taken to shut down DEI programs throughout the federal government and among federal contractors and to put pressure on private entities to end similar programs.

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(WASHINGTON) — The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has instructed all federal agencies to cease spending on any financial assistance programs if they suspect it might conflict with President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders.

Agencies must comply beginning at 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday, according to the OMB memo obtained by ABC News.

However, the order does not specify which financial aid programs would have to be suspended.

Given the spate of orders issued this month — some of which have prompted lawsuits — the memo could have sweeping implications.

The federal government funds thousands of programs, including research projects, housing subsidies and educational grants.

“The use of Federal resources to advanced Marxist equity, transgenderism and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day to day lives of those we serve,” wrote Matthew Vaeth, acting director of the OMB.

Vaeth told agency chiefs they must “identify and review all federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements.”

They are being told they must report back by Feb. 10 on all programs that apply.

“In the interim, to the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activity related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to financial assistance for foreign aid, non-governmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” Vaeth wrote.

In response to the OMB memo, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement late Monday calling on the Trump administration to immediately “reverse course.”

“Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law,” Schumer said. “These grants help people in red states and blue states, support families, help parents raise kids, and lead to stronger communities.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is firing “over a dozen” officials who were part of former special counsel Jack Smith’s teams that prosecuted President Donald Trump, officials confirmed to ABC News Monday.

Acting Attorney General James McHenry transmitted letters to the officials informing them of their termination, officials said, that said given their part in the prosecutions they couldn’t be trusted in “faithfully implementing the president’s agenda.”

It’s not immediately clear the exact number of officials who were fired on Monday, but the move was largely expected after President Trump’s threats leading up to the 2024 election stating he planned to fire Smith “on day one.”

Smith resigned prior to Trump taking office and submitted his final report to former Attorney General Merrick Garland. Garland released Vol. 1 of Smith’s final report detailing Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, but he was blocked by District Judge Aileen Cannon from sharing with Congress the second volume of Trump’s report detailing his investigation of Trump’s mishandling of classified documents after leaving his first administration.

Separately, an official confirmed to ABC News that the top career official in the Justice Department, Bradley Weinsheimer, was recently informed he was being reassigned out of his role. Weinsheimer was a longtime career public official and gained notoriety last year in exchanges with President Joe Biden’s attorneys as they sought to prevent Special Counsel Robert Hur from releasing portions of his final report that detailed Biden’s diminished capacities.

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(WASHINGTON) — The official portrait of first lady Melania Trump was unveiled by the White House on Monday.

The image, released in black and white, was taken in the residence by photographer Régine Mahaux.

The first lady’s office confirmed the photo was taken on Jan. 21, 2025, though the initial release mistakenly said it was taken in 2024.

The portraits of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were released earlier this month ahead of the inauguration. Those images were put out by the transition team.

Melania Trump attended the inaugural events, and made a statement with her style choices. She first wore a navy and ivory ensemble, complete with a hat, from American designer Adam Lippes for the swearing-in ceremony. For the evening’s inaugural balls, she donned a black-and-white gown designed by her longtime stylist Herve Pierre.

She also joined President Trump as he surveyed hurricane damage in North Carolina last Friday.

The two celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last week. President Trump took to his social media platform to wish her a happy anniversary.

ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — In 2020, as a pandemic raged across the globe, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took to social media to appeal to his hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook.

The son of the late U.S. Attorney General and New York Sen. Bobby Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, the younger Kennedy said he was looking for parents whose children had been vaccinated against a different virus — human papillomavirus or HPV — and later grew sick.

Public health researchers and doctors said there was no evidence that the vaccine, Gardasil, was linked to the health problems he cited, noting 160 favorable studies on safety. A federal court created to compensate people injured by vaccines also had already rejected a similar claim, citing “insufficient proof” that the vaccine was behind the plaintiff’s health issues.

But in his posts, Kennedy said that he and lawyer Michael Baum – “one of my closest friends” — believed there was still a path forward. The families could sue the manufacturer Merck in civil court claiming marketing fraud – allegations Merck denies.

“If you have been injured by Gardasil, call us,” Kennedy wrote on Facebook, posting a toll-free number invoking his famous initials “RFK.”

According to financial disclosure documents released last week, Kennedy’s primary source of income in the past year were large sums of referral fees from multiple law firms, including Baum’s office, whose civil lawsuit against Merck’s Gardasil vaccine went to trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week.

Kennedy’s leading role in building a case against Merck is now raising questions about how he might wield his power as the nation’s next health secretary – a job intended as an impartial overseer in public health – while in line for potential payouts from a major pharmaceutical company.

“This disclosure shows that RFK Jr. made millions off of peddling dangerous anti-vaccine conspiracies,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which will oversee Kennedy’s nomination.

“Even worse, if he is confirmed, his finances will still be tied to the outcomes of anti-vaccine lawsuits — even as he’d be tasked with regulating them as health secretary. These are outrageous conflicts of interest that endanger public health,” Warren said in a statement provided to reporters.

Kennedy, who is expected to testify for the first time Wednesday before the Senate panel, said he has resigned his work with several law firms, including Wisner Baum, and that if confirmed he would not be involved in legal cases.

But in a plan greenlit by federal ethics officials, Kennedy said he plans to retain his right to 10 percent of fees awarded in contingency cases with Wisner Baum so long as the cases don’t involve the U.S. government. The federal government is not a party in the civil lawsuit against Merck.

“I am entitled to receive a portion of future recovery in these cases based upon the set percentage as set forth in the referral agreement,” he wrote.

Kennedy disclosed another $856,559 in income from Wisner Baum referral fees, although the documents do not say which legal cases were tied to those fees. Other income included $8.8 million from his firm Kennedy & Madonna. Kennedy said he was terminating his relationship with the firm, which would no longer use his name.

A spokesperson for Kennedy declined to comment on the record on the Wisner Baum payouts and ongoing lawsuit. Baum did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement on the civil lawsuit, Merck said “an overwhelming body of scientific evidence, including more than 30 years of research and development along with real world evidence generated by Merck and by independent investigators, continues to support the safety and efficacy of our HPV vaccines. The plaintiff’s allegations have no merit, and we remain committed to vigorously defending against these claims.”

Robert Krakow, a New York lawyer who specializes in vaccine injury cases and has worked with Kennedy in the past, said referral fees are fairly standard when it comes to personal injury claims.

Kennedy has been a “galvanizing force” when it came to questioning vaccine safety, providing a special touch when talking to families because “he was very sincere and listened to people,” Krakow said. Using social media platforms to recruit clients is a natural extension of that work, he said.

“It’s not often you have a celebrity do that,” Krawkow said of Kennedy’s work to find clients who claim vaccine injuries. “But there’s nothing inherently wrong with recruiting people for referral fees.”

Reuters was first to report Kennedy’s extensive role in the Gardasil vaccine lawsuit.

Because Kennedy’s financial arrangement was allowed by ethics officials, it’s not clear whether the issue will be a sticking point for Republicans eager to align with Trump. According to the agreement released last week, Kennedy can keep the fees from Wisner Baum so long as the independent ethics office at the Health and Human Services Department determines the case does “not involve the United States as a party and in which the United States does not have a direct and substantial interest.”

Kennedy also has insisted in private meetings with senators that he is not “anti-vaccine,” but only wants more study, according to one person familiar with the discussions.

The messaging aligns with what Kennedy has said publicly. Kennedy often notes he was vaccinated as a child and opted to vaccinate his own children decades ago. His work as chair and chief litigator of the Children’s Heath Defense, which opposes the recommended schedule of vaccines for children, did not begin until around 2015.

“What I’ve said is I’m pro-science and pro-safety,” he told a local New Hampshire television station in 2023.

Still, public health experts and many senators — several of them old enough to remember serious outbreaks of measles and polio in the 1950s — have expressed serious concerns about his role in eroding confidence in vaccines even if he says he won’t outright block access to them.

“We potentially face a massive health hazard, maybe especially for our children,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Sanders, a Vermont Democrat who had been seen as someone who might be able to find common ground with Kennedy on environmental and food policy, said the concern with the incoming administration was that “we may revert back to those terrible days when so many children died” before age 3.

As head of the Health and Human Services Department, Kennedy would be responsible for the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the selling and marketing of vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which collects data on vaccines to issue public health recommendations that are closely followed by doctors.

If confirmed, he could insist upon appointing vaccine skeptics to the independent group that reviews FDA data on vaccines.

Kennedy also could alter how information is used from CDC’s public reporting system known as “VAERS” that allows anyone to flag possible adverse reactions from vaccines. The reports are unverified but used to look for potential patterns that can be investigated.

Health officials say symptoms reported in VAERS are often found to be unrelated from a person’s immunization history.

Dorit Reiss, a professor at UC Law San Francisco and expert in legal issues on vaccinations, said handing over that process to someone with Kennedy’s track record would be unprecedented.

“Kennedy has been a committed anti-vaccine activist for a long time. I have seen no indication that his views have changed,” Reiss said.

ABC’s Sony Salzman and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is carrying out his immigration crackdown nationwide, with nearly 1,000 arrests reported by ICE on Sunday alone.

The actions prompted a tense standoff between the U.S. and Colombia after Colombia’s president turned away deportation flights from the U.S. Trump then threatened tariffs as high as 25% against the South American nation, causing its leader to reverse course and accept deported migrants.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived for his first full day at the Pentagon after being narrowly confirmed by the Senate. Trump’s other Cabinet picks, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, will face confirmation hearings later this week.

Pete Hegseth arrives for 1st full day at Pentagon as defense secretary

Arriving for his first full day at the Pentagon as defense secretary, Pete Hegseth stopped to talk to reporters to lay out some of his priorities.

“It’s an honor to be here,” Hegseth said after being greeted by Gen. CQ Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Hegseth said that would include removing DEI efforts inside the Pentagon, reinstating service members discharged because of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and building an Iron Dome — though experts have said the latter may not be realistic for the U.S.

He also said the Pentagon would provide “whatever’s needed” at the southern border as Trump carries out his immigration crackdown.

Hegseth previously suggested the firing of Brown as well as other senior officers who were involved either in the chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan or “woke” DEI initiatives.

Asked on Monday if he wants to fire Brown, Hegseth said: “I’m standing with him right now. Look forward to working with him.”
 

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(WASHINGTON) — Protesters endured freezing temperatures to attend a vigil outside the Washington, D.C., jail this week as the moment they waited years for arrived: alleged Jan. 6 rioters walking free after President Donald Trump issued sweeping pardons on his first day back in office on Monday.

Those demonstrators gathered each night in support of the incarcerated Jan. 6 defendants, talking on speakerphone and joining in song with people jailed just steps away.

On Jan. 6, 2021, the U.S. Capitol was attacked by a mob of Trump supporters two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. At the time, a joint session of Congress was counting the Electoral College votes to formalize Joe Biden’s victory. Trump pardoned around 1,500 people charged or convicted in crimes tied to the day’s events.

One of those pardoned was Pennsylvania resident Robert Morss, who was convicted of assaulting police officers on Jan. 6. Morss drove to the D.C. vigil after he was officially released early from his halfway house.

He was pressed by ABC News about whether there was any justification for hurting a police officer.

“I would say that the justification for defending yourself would have to be predicated on the threat level,” he said. “I would never say that there’s any justification for hurting a cop, I would never say there’s any justification for hurting anybody and we’re not the party that condones violence.”

Multiple accused rioters have put forward defenses that they were incited to violence by police, but none were successful in court. Approximately 140 police officers were injured that day, according to the Department of Justice.

The Washington, D.C., Police Union, which represents officers from the Metropolitan Police Department, expressed “dismay” over the pardons in a statement.

“As an organization that represents the interests of the 3,000 brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities, our stance is clear — anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, without exception,” it said.

In an internal memo obtained by ABC News, Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger praised officers in the wake of the pardons. Manger said that “when there is no price to pay for violence against law enforcement, it sends a message that politics matter more than our first responders.”

In addition to mentioning Trump’s pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, he also cited former President Joe Biden’s decision to commute the sentence of Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975.

“Police willingly put themselves in harm’s way to protect our communities. When people attack law enforcement officers, the criminals should be met with consequences, condemnation and accountability,” Manger said in the memo.

While most Jan. 6 rioters were charged with nonviolent offenses, more than 250 were convicted of violent crimes, including assaulting police officers, according to an ABC News review of court records.

In the aftermath of the attack, both Republicans and Democrats condemned people responsible.

“The thugs who stormed the Capitol today and incited violence should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Every single one of them,” Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, wrote on X on Jan. 6, 2021.

However, after the pardons, Republican lawmakers largely defended Trump’s pardon powers and Scott sidestepped ABC News’ questions about whether the pardons should have applied to violent offenders.

“I haven’t gone into the detail,” he said.

Not every Jan. 6 defendant received a pardon — 14 had their sentences commuted instead.

All were members of militant groups the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers who were charged with sedition. Prosecutors said they tried to use the Capitol attack to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was released early from his 18-year prison sentence. He did not enter the Capitol on Jan. 6 and maintained that his group only intended to provide security and medical aid to those attending multiple pro-Trump demonstrations in the area, prosecutors said.

After his release, he came back to Washington, D.C., and told ABC News that people who committed acts of violence deserve a pardon and claimed that none of the Jan. 6 defendants received fair trials.

“They still have a right to a fair trial,” he said. “And if the jury pool is drawn up of the victims, the judges themselves said that all people who live in D.C. were victims of Jan. 6.”

Heather Shaner, a public defender who represented more than 40 nonviolent Jan. 6 defendants, had a different take.

“As an attorney, I think they have been handled with excruciating fairness. And my clients feel the same way, by the way,” she told ABC News. “They got a public defender. They were given all the evidence against them. And they got what they considered fair pleas and fair sentences.”

Jason Riddle, who was sentenced to 90 days in prison after pleading guilty to illegally protesting in the Capitol and raiding a liquor cabinet, echoed that sentiment. He wants nothing to do with a Trump pardon, even though he got one.

“Because I did it, I’m guilty of the crime,” he told ABC News.

The New Hampshire man called Jan. 6 “the biggest display of disrespect you ever saw in your life,” acknowledging that he raided a liquor cabinet and noting that people were defacing the walls of the Capitol.

“And like, Trump called that a ‘beautiful day.’ Trump said that was ‘a day of love,'” he told ABC News.

ABC News’ Alex Mallin and Diana Paulson contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The email ousting at least one top federal watchdog from their post was so short, it could fit in a tweet.

The two-sentence long letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Inspector General Christi Grimm cited “changing priorities” under the President Donald Trump’s new administration, according to a copy of the note obtained by ABC News.

“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that due to changing priorities your position as Inspector General… is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the email read.

The email addressed the inspector general by her first name — “Dear Christi” — with no customary courtesy title, such as “the Honorable,” or even “Ms.”

The same email template was used for the other inspector general firings, sources said.

Late Friday night, Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general at multiple federal agencies.

While inspectors general can be fired by the president, it can only happen after communicating with Congress 30 days in advance. In 2022, Congress strengthened the law requiring administrations to give a detailed reasoning for the firing of an IG.

Trump classified the firings as a “common thing to do” as he talked to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way from Las Vegas to Miami Saturday evening.

“It’s a very standard thing to do, very much like the U.S. attorneys,” Trump said.

The email to Grimm came in at 7:48 p.m. Friday night, and the way the wave of terminations was done surprised many across the inspector general community, even though there had been signs that a firing event like this could happen — as ABC News reported last week.

Among recommendations in the Project 2025 conservative blueprint for a second Trump term was replacing inspectors general under the new administration. As recently as last week, Mick Mulvaney, who was one of Trump’s chiefs of staff in his first term, wrote in an op-ed specifically that “a good place for Trump to start” cleaning out the “Deep State” would be with firing inspectors general.

Still, the HHS Office of Inspector General — and inspectors generals’ offices in most every government agency — had prepared a transition book for the incoming administration laying out what the independent agency does, and to identify areas of focus to make the departments and their programs healthier, more efficient and more effective, according to multiple sources.

On a call Saturday afternoon among the inspector general community, not only was there note-comparing about who got fired, what their email said, and what happens now — there was also discussion of encouraging those acting inspectors general who are remaining to stay independent and not shy away from difficult facts or unflattering findings, according to a source familiar with the call.

There’s a concern among the inspector general community now, given the language about “changing priorities” in the firing emails, that the new administration is cleaning house in order to install personnel aligned with Trump’s political leanings, rather than those who champion the agencies’ guiding mission of independence and oversight, multiple sources said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin explained why she voted against confirming Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, was sworn into the role Saturday following a hair-thin vote in the Senate.

Slotkin told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz she had not been confident Hegseth would be more loyal to the Constitution than he would be to President Donald Trump.

“He couldn’t unambiguously say that he will push back if the president asked him to do something that wasn’t constitutional, and that, to me, is why I couldn’t confirm him,” Slotkin said. “There’s a lot of other things in his background I don’t like, but I look at what is the strategic and irreversible threats to our democracy, and that’s using the uniform military in ways that violate the Constitution.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — For the first time in U.S. history, military aircraft were used this past week to deport scores of undocumented migrants from the United States. Middle schools, Trump administration officials say, are now seen as places to target for immigration enforcement operations. And, according to President Trump’s “border czar,” every undocumented immigrant should worry they could be arrested at any time, even if they have no criminal record.

The “border czar,” Tom Homan, says it’s all part of the Trump administration’s effort to send a “clear” message: “There’s consequences [for] entering the country illegally,” he told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday.

“If we don’t show there’s consequences, you’re never going to fix the border problem,” he said.

More than 11 million undocumented immigrants are currently estimated to be living in the U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to take unprecedented action to remove as many of them as possible and stem the flow of more migrants coming to the southern border.

In his first several days in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the border, announced an end to the so-called practice of “catch and release” — when migrants claiming asylum are given court dates and then released pending those proceedings — and sought to overturn the long-held Constitutional right of birthright citizenship, a move that immediately faced legal challenges and was at least temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

As for the millions of undocumented immigrants already in the country, Homan said the administration will deport “as many as we can,” starting with threats to public safety threats and national security, Homan said.According to estimates released by House Republicans last year, based on government data, hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants in the country are convicted criminals or have charges pending against them. Government statistics indicate that in the past four years, hundreds of migrants were caught along the southern border with names matching known or suspected terrorists on a government watchlist. And Homan has said more than 2 million people were detected along the border but never captured, so authorities don’t know who they are or what threat some of them could pose.

According to statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security last year, a tiny fraction of those who reached U.S. borders in the prior three years had any kind of criminal record, and the vast majority of them involved nonviolent crimes, such as driving under the influence or previously entering the country illegally.

Homan told ABC News that the Trump administration is only “in the beginning stages” of carrying out its mass deportation plan, making public safety threats and national security threats a “priority,” but “as that aperture opens, there’ll be more arrests nationwide.”

And he warned that there will be “collateral arrests,” especially in the so-called “sanctuary cities” that he says are resistant to helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials locate and arrest undocumented immigrants already in local custody for other crimes.

“Sanctuary cities lock us out of the jails,” said Homan, who led ICE as acting director in Trump’s first administration.

According to Homan, that creates significant safety concerns: When an undocumented immigrant arrested for a serious crime is released by local authorities, instead of being deported, it “endangers the community.”

Nevertheless, Homan said that’s a time when ICE officers would likely make “collateral arrests.”

“When we find him, he’s going to be with others … [and] if they’re in the country illegally, they’re coming too,” he said.

He emphasized that anyone in the country unlawfully is “on the table.”

“It’s not OK to violate the laws of this country,” he said. “We have millions of people standing in line, taking the test, doing their background investigation, paying the fees that want to come in the right way.”

“So if you’re in the country illegally, you got a problem,” he said.

On Monday, during Trump’s first day in office, acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued a directive telling immigration authorities they could conduct operations in so-called “sensitive” areas that he said were off-limits during the Biden administration.

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” he said in a statement.

Others, however, said the administration was simply creating fear within the immigrant community, with the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration saying that “turning places of care, healing and solace into places of fear and uncertainty … will note make our communities safer.

He said that as they prioritize national security threats and public safety threats, ICE officers might have to even go into schools because “many” members of gangs tied to South and Central America, such as MS-13, are between 14 and 17 years old.

In his interview with ABC News, Homan said that no other law enforcement agency is restricted from entering certain locations to promote public safety in the same way ICE has been.

“Name another agency, another law enforcement agency, that has those type of requirements, that they can’t walk into a school or doctor’s office or a medical campus,” he said. “No other agency is held to those standards.”

“These are well-trained [ICE] officers with a lot of discretion, and when it comes to a sensitive location, there’s still going to be supervisory review,” he said. “But ICE officers should have discretion to decide if a national security threat or a public safety threat [is] in one of these facilities.”

Homan said anyone already in the country unlawfully “should leave,” and those looking to claim asylum should “do it the legal way.”

“Go to the embassy, go to the point of entry,” he said. “You shouldn’t come to this country and ask to get asylum and the first thing you do is break our laws by entering illegally.”

In the meantime, Homan said the Trump administration is using not just the military but the “whole” government, including the Justice Department, to support its mass deportation plan, which allows ICE officers to concentrate on conducting enforcement operations.

But Homan acknowledged that the federal government won’t be able to remove every undocumented immigrant in the U.S., and that his “success is going to be based on what Congress gives us.”

ICE doesn’t currently have enough funding from Congress to detain all of the undocumented immigrants that the Trump administration says it hopes to arrest.

“I’m being realistic,” he said. “We can do what we can with the money we have. We’re going to try to be efficient. But with more money we have, the more we can accomplish.”

“What price [do] you put on national security?” he added. “When you … don’t secure that border, that’s when national security threats enter the country. That’s when sex trafficking goes up. That’s when, you know, that’s when the fentanyl comes in.”

As for what success practically looks like at the end of the Trump administration, Homan said: “Our success every day is taking a public safety threat off the streets or getting a national security threat out of here.”

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