The election of President-elect Donald Trump has sparked a notable rise in morale among U.S. border authorities, who view Trump’s commitment to border security as a turning point after years of relaxed immigration policies. Following four years that saw record numbers of migrants entering the United States, Trump’s election on promises of border security and mass deportations has revived a sense of optimism within the ranks of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On Monday, Trump tapped Tom Homan, the former acting director of ICE and a respected figure among border authorities, as his administration’s “border czar.” Homan, who has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, expressed his determination to address the border crisis. Appearing on Fox & Friends, Homan said, “I’ve been on this network for years complaining about what this administration did to this border… So when the president asked me, ‘Would you come back and fix it?’ Of course, I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t.”

Under President Biden, illegal border crossings surged to nearly 3 million in fiscal 2024, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Since fiscal 2021, there have been over 10.8 million encounters involving illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Homan has publicly backed Trump’s plan for mass deportations, emphasizing that public safety and national security threats would be prioritized. When asked in a recent 60 Minutes interview if these deportations would lead to family separations, Homan responded that “families can be deported together.”

For many border officials, Homan’s appointment and Trump’s election represent a long-awaited return to policies they believe are essential to restoring border security. National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez noted, “The morale is through the roof… We’ve received hundreds of calls, texts, emails just saying how happy the agents are.”

“Troops are finally feeling like the sun is coming out after a very long storm,” said one ICE officer in Massachusetts, while an ICE officer in New York described morale as “super high, especially with the Homan news.” An Arizona Border Patrol agent added, “Ecstatic to go to work! Morale is even higher than the first time he won.”

The morale boost has even impacted retirement plans for some border agents. “There are a lot of agents that had originally said that they would retire if President Trump did not win,” Perez said. “Now those same agents are saying they’re going to hold back on their retirement because they want to serve under this administration again.”

A California border agent shared that “nothing will change until Tom Homan takes the leash off us,” while a Texas border agent commented on the renewed enthusiasm: “People who were going to retire are not, and everyone is happy.” Another senior ICE official expressed satisfaction, saying, “People know now they will get to do the work they signed up to do… They know they can get the bad guys now. Public safety threats, national security threats, gang members—here we come.”

Officials also expressed relief at the prospect of no longer being required to use politically correct language, such as referring to illegal immigrants as “noncitizens.”