Retired Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan in an interview that aired Wednesday on "Rising" called for a nationwide operation to target asylum-seekers who have stayed in the U.S. illegally.

"I think we step up enforcement," Homan, who served under President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE from 2017 to 2018, told Hill.TV's Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton earlier this week. "We've got to remove the magnets that drive people here."

"Make it hard for somebody to get a job. That's one of the reasons why they're coming here," he continued.

"I think ICE needs to get out there and do a nationwide operation of single adults and family units that have entered illegally, claimed asylum, had their due process and been ordered removed by a federal judge and chose not to leave, which is most of them," he said.

The Trump administration has taken aim at asylum-seekers in an effort to reduce the number of people crossing the southern border illegally.

Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrHarris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle Hillicon Valley: DOJ proposes tech liability shield reform to Congress | Treasury sanctions individuals, groups tied to Russian malign influence activities | House Republican introduces bill to set standards for self-driving cars McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE said in an order issued earlier this month that asylum-seekers who demonstrate a "credible fear" and are then sent to full deportation proceedings are not eligible to be released on bond.

Opponents of the move say it allows the courts to be used as a political mechanism by law enforcement.

— Julia Manchester