White House border czar defends masks for immigration officers amid funding standoff

White House border czar Tom Homan said that although he does not like federal immigration officers wearing masks, he believes they are necessary for safety amid what he described as rising threats and assaults, media reports said on Sunday.

"I don't like the masks either," Homan said in an interview on CBS News' Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.

He argued that immigration officers "have to protect themselves," citing claims that assaults against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have increased by 1,500% and threats against them by 8,000%.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a Jan. 26 release that assaults against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers had risen by more than 1,300%, but neither Homan nor the department specified a timeframe or source for the figures.

"These men and women have to protect themselves," Homan said.

His remarks came as a partial government shutdown centered on DHS began early Saturday, amid disagreements between congressional Democrats and the White House over immigration enforcement reforms.

Lawmakers left Washington without a funding agreement and are not expected to return until Feb. 23.

Democrats have called for requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras and identification, banning masks, stopping racial profiling, and mandating judicial warrants for arrests on private property.

Homan described some of those demands as "unreasonable," saying, "There is no racial profiling."

On judicial warrants, he said, "That's not what the federal law requires," adding that ICE is acting "within the framework of federal statutes enacted by Congress and signed by a president."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said "dramatic change" is needed before any funding bill moves forward.

Meanwhile, Homan said more than 1,000 immigration agents have left Minnesota, with several hundred more expected to depart, leaving a "small force" temporarily in place.