ICE’s harsh boss is out in surprise

THE TRUMP administration’s acting immigration enforcement chief abruptly announced his resignation Monday — even though the President had tapped him for a permanent post.

Thomas Homan, acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, confirmed he will retire by June, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. Homan also took a sweeping parting shot at news outlets.

“I am humbled and inspired by the 20,000 American patriots who serve this agency and protect our nation, increasingly in the face of unfair and false criticism from politicians and the media,” Homan said in a statement.

Trump tapped Homan to become permanent ICE director in November, but his nomination has been held up in the Senate, where Democrats have voiced concern about his hawkish stance on immigration.

Homan was first appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013.

The acting ICE director has been a strong proponent of Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, and arrests of undocumented immigrants with no criminal records have spiked under his tenure.

Like Trump, Homan has pushed for an aggressive application of immigration law.

He has advocated for removing all immigrants living in the country illegally, whether they have a criminal record or not.

He drew widespread rebuke after he said last summer that undocumented immigrants “should be afraid.”