Here's What Tom Homan Has to Say About Arresting Gavin Newsom

With the unrest going on in Los Angeles to do with anti-ICE, pro-illegal immigrant, and even pro-terrorist riots, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has had nothing but the wrong kind of response, especially as he's targeted the Trump administration and dared Tom Homan to arrest him. It was a move that President Donald Trump indicated on Monday afternoon he was a fan of, and Homan himself also weighed in on the idea later that same day during his interview with CBS News. "There's no intention to arrest the governor right now," Homan mentioned, but there was also plenty more he had to share.

Homan began by making clear to host John Dickerson that it "absolutely was" necessary for Trump to call in the National Guard, though Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have tried to claim otherwise. This is especially as Homan reminded of the violence that occurred over the weekend, with agents even being assaulted. The border czar also pointed out how "we had 1,000 protesters... that decided to become criminals and breach that facility, they caused a lot of property damage and I'm glad he did it" when it comes to Trump calling in the National Guard.

When it comes to the "disconnect" about who was being targeted, as Dickerson tried to argue there were only certain illegal immigrants who were breaking the law, Homan slammed the media narratives and also reminded how he's said, "'if you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table." Dickerson still tried to push his narrative further as he brought up "a business owner who might have undocumented migrant labor, who's not doing--they're not any criminals, they're just undocumented migrants," as he asked for Homan's message. The border czar offered another warning, which is that it's "illegal [to] knowingly hire an illegal alien, that's what the law says." Homan also made clear he's willing to go to their place of work to find the "bad guys."

It was then that the conversation turned to the arrest of Newsom, which again, the governor seems to have been trying to goad Homan into doing. As Dickerson asked "on what grounds" would Homan arrest Newsom, the border czar offered that "that whole thing's been taken outta context." That's not all he had to say, though.

"So this whole thing is just a bunch of noise, basically, because you're not claiming that Gavin Newsom has done anything to, uh, to get to impede ICE officers," Dickerson followed up with, offering the perfect illustration of how Newsom and Democrats have been handling this as they create "just a bunch of noise."

Perhaps most key is that Homan reminded Dickerson that he's not a prosecutor. Homan pointing that out shows that much more how performative Newsom has been about the riots, and not just because he's spent a considerable time posting over social media, including in ways that aren't exactly flattering to himself.

"Well, I'll leave that up to DOJ. But what I'm saying right now is when someone commits a crime we'll ask the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute. So I'm not a prosecutor. So we'll hand that over DOJ. But right now know there's no, there's a, there's no intention to arrest the governor right now. I don't know if he crossed that line," Homan offered. As he affirmed he doesn't have any evidence about a line being crossed by Newsom, Homan also made clear that "what I simply said is if and when he crosses that line, then we'll see prosecution."

Given how Newsom was goading Homan into such a move, and definitely seems like the type who would want to make himself into a political martyr, it's certainly not the worst scenario for Homan to have this wait and see approach.

The Trump administration's border czar Tom Homan says the hundreds of troops ordered by the president do not have a specific withdrawal order. For CBS Evening News Plus, John Dickerson spoke to Homan about the National Guard presence in the city. pic.twitter.com/2GSwq3y94X
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) June 10, 2025