White House border czar Tom Homan faced a tense confrontation during a speech on immigration enforcement to college students.
Homan was speaking at an event hosted by Turning Point USA at the University of Texas at El Paso when an attendee shouted “racist” and “traitor,” derailing the discussion.
“Call me what you want, I don’t care,” Homan snapped back. “Why don’t you grow a backbone, put a Kevlar vest and a gun on your hip and go secure this border?” he added. Later, he told the crowd, “I don’t give a s*** what people think of me.”
A man thought to be the heckler cornered Homan again during a question-and-answer session, suggesting that Homan’s support for the so-called Great Replacement Theory had inspired Patrick Crusius, the gunman behind the 2019 Walmart shooting in El Paso.
“Patrick Crusius, your everyday conservative, drove hundreds of miles to our city based on your belief that Hispanics are replacing the white race… and we need a scare to deter Hispanics,” the protester said.
“To be honest, what I said was the open border was an action, was a mess, and it was by design,” Homan responded. He has alleged, without evidence, that the Biden administration intentionally left the border unsecured to create a permanent bloc of Democratic voters.
Crusius is serving a life sentence for the Walmart shooting, which killed 23 people and wounded 22 others.
He also received 90 consecutive life sentences on federal murder and hate crime charges. His manifesto cited white nationalist themes and the Great Replacement Theory as part of his motivation.
‘GROW A BACKBONE’: Border Czar Tom Homan calls out a heckler during his speech at a Turning Point USA event on the University of Texas at El Paso campus.
“Put a Kevlar vest and a gun on your hip and go secure this border.” pic.twitter.com/8kcUuVLIPh— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 5, 2025
The heckler who interrupted Homan’s speech was not the only one to object to his appearance.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside Leech Grove on the UTEP campus to voice their opposition. One of the protesters, Emil Esparza, called Homan’s visit “insulting” in comments to KFOX14. “I do not like the guy, I do not like the administration he comes from,” he said.
Many residents said his visit ignored the lived experiences of immigrant communities, while a Turning Point USA statement noted that Homan chose El Paso for its border location.
“As students who have maintained a non-inflammatory approach, we are disappointed to see that the city has chosen to base their opinions off of stereotypes and assumptions,” the statement read.
Representatives for Homan were contacted for comment.
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