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Monday, Feb. 3, 2025

Can a border czar deputize any U.S. citizen for immigration enforcement?

Carmela Guaglianone, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
no

Only the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, under certain circumstances, can deputize agency staff, federal workers, or state or federal law enforcement to act as immigration officers—but not civilians. The DHS Secretary could be dubbed a border czar, but the two titles are not interchangeable. 

A “czar” is not generally an official title, but refers to a member of the administration or advisor who is considered an expert or authority on a particular issue. In previous administrations, positions such as the U.S. attorney and Special Representative for the Southwest Border, which require Senate confirmation, were named border czars.

President Donald Trump announced former Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan as his administration’s “border czar.” Trump stated that Homan would be “in charge of our Nation’s Borders,” but has yet to provide a more formal title or traditional role. Homan has not undergone Senate confirmation.

See a full discussion of this at Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting

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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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