Tucker Battles Jorge Ramos Over US' 'Responsibility' to Accept Illegals

Acting ICE Director Tom Homan said the caravan of asylum-seekers at the San Diego border represents "an attack on the sovereignty of this nation."

Nearly 200 migrants are parked at the nation's busiest border crossing, planning to seek asylum in the U.S. following their dramatic journey in a caravan through Mexico, which sets up a showdown with the Trump administration over immigration and asylum policy.

On "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday, Homan said many of the migrants have a credible case that they are seeking asylum to escape fear and persecution, but many of them do not.

ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan: “I can’t blame anybody for wanting to be a part of the greatest country on earth, but there’s a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it.” pic.twitter.com/JGcGN796tp — Fox News (@FoxNews) May 1, 2018

"Many are taking advantage of a system with loopholes in it," Homan said, arguing that many asylum-seekers do not have a legitimate "credible fear" claim.

“I can’t blame anybody for wanting to be a part of the greatest country on Earth, but there’s a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it," he said. "You can't want to be a part of the greatest country on Earth and not respect its laws."

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He added that people trying to enter the U.S. with fraudulent asylum claims clog up the system, which delays the process for others who are truly trying to escape fear and persecution.

Homan, who's retiring in June, said that President Trump has been tremendous on immigration enforcement because he's allowed ICE to actually enforce existing U.S. immigration laws.

“I worked for six different presidents. None of them has done more than Donald Trump has for border security and law enforcement. This president has done more for us than any president."

Watch the full interview above.

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