Incoming Trump administration border czar Tom Homan has defended the estimated $86 billion cost of mass deportations, emphasizing that safeguarding national security and American lives is priceless, The Hill reported.

"What price do you put on national security? I don't think it has a price tag," Homan told NewsNation's Ali Bradley. "What price do you put on the thousands of American moms and dads who buried their children? You want to talk about family separation; they buried their children because their children were murdered by illegal aliens that weren't supposed to be here. I don't put a price on that. I don't put a price on national security. I don't put a price on American lives."

The planned deportations are projected to cost $86 billion, a figure Homan defended by arguing the long-term benefits outweigh the immediate expenses. He emphasized that taxpayers currently shoulder the burden of providing numerous services to undocumented immigrants, including transportation, housing, healthcare, and education.

"This operation would be expensive," Homan admitted. "However, it's going to save taxpayers a lot of money in the long run. Right now, we're spending billions of dollars on free airline tickets, free hotel rooms, free medical care, free meals, the education system."

Despite his confidence in the operation's necessity, Homan acknowledged that congressional support would be crucial.

"We need more resources; we need funding," Homan explained. "We obviously need to buy more detention beds because everybody we arrest, we have to detain, to work on those removal efforts and get travel documents, get flight arrangements. So we need more detention beds."

Homan sought to clarify that the administration does not intend to separate families during the deportation process but plans to deport them together. However, he acknowledged challenges related to U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants, suggesting that halfway houses may be used as a temporary measure.

"As far as U.S. children, that's going to be a difficult situation because we're not going to change your U.S. citizenship," Homan said. "Which means they're going to be put in a halfway house or they can stay at home and wait for the officers to get the travel arrangements and come back and get the family. You know the best thing to do for a family is to self-deport themselves."

The former acting ICE director also addressed birthright citizenship, asserting that having a U.S.-born child does not exempt undocumented immigrants from immigration enforcement.

"We can't send that message," Homan said. "Because if we do, you're never going to solve the border crisis."

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