The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) defended President Trump Friday on “Outnumbered Overtime” against accusations that the Trump administration’s “cruel” policies have backfired.

“Congress had failed to close the loopholes that caused people to come this country. And we talk about family separation, I'm really sick and tired of Democrats talking about Trump's family separation,” Thomas Homan said, responding to a clip of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro.

FORMER ICE DIRECTOR: GAVIN NEWSOM THE LAST PERSON YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO ON BORDER SECURITY

“We go back just one year, his administration told us that if we could just be cruel enough to separate little children from their parents that, that would deter, that would stop more families from coming from Central America to our border. And here we are a year later and actually the opposite of that is true. There are more people who are coming,” Castro said on MSNBC Friday.

Homan strongly disagreed with Castro and said Democrats were being unfair to Trump regarding policies built under former President Barack Obama.

“I was with ICE during the Obama years. Family detention was built under the Obama administration. We went from one hundred family beds to three thousand family beds in those so-called cages, which I don't call cages at all but they call cages, were built as part of the Obama administration,” Homan said.

“They've got to stop clouding the truth to the American people."

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The former ICE leader also believes the president will still consider closing the southern border with Mexico as long it motivates that country to work with the U.S.

“I think shutting down the border remains on the table. But Mexico has the last few days, they're actually taking a lot of action. So I think as long as they do that, that option will stay on the table,” Homan said.

