Joe Rogan, the 58-year-old podcast host, recently expressed surprise at a resurfaced clip from a 2010 speech by former President Barack Obama on immigration policy.
During a discussion with conservative podcaster Andrew Wilson, Rogan had a producer play a one-and-a-half-minute snippet from Obama's July 2010 address at American University. In the clip, Obama described the immigration system as "fundamentally broken" and argued against halting deportations. Rogan used this, alongside examples like current enforcement actions and past recognition of immigration official Tom Homan, to highlight how perspectives once accepted under a Democratic administration are now often labeled as extreme.
According to the Daily Mail, the issue has sparked debate over how immigration policy perceptions have shifted over time. Rogan noted that Obama's words in 2010 sounded "so Republican" to modern ears, yet were widely accepted back then. It's a point worth chewing on—how did a Democrat's stance become a lightning rod for today's political divide?
Obama, in that 2010 speech, didn't mince words about the risks of lax enforcement. "It would suggest to those thinking about coming here illegally that there will be no repercussions for such a decision, and this could lead to a surge in more illegal immigration," he warned. If that doesn't sound like a page from a conservative playbook, what does?
Contrast that with Obama's broader view—he called mass deportation of 11 million undocumented individuals unrealistic, warning it would damage the nation's fabric. Yet, under his watch, enforcement was no soft touch. Tom Homan, a senior official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even earned a Presidential Rank Award in 2015 for his deportation efforts.
Fast forward to today, and Homan is a central figure in Donald Trump's immigration operations, including the ongoing Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. Now overseeing a massive enforcement push, Homan faces sharp criticism from progressive circles for policies seen as overly harsh. But wasn’t he just as tough under Obama?
In April, Homan doubled down, vowing to deport every unauthorized migrant and treat failure to register with the Department of Homeland Security as a criminal offense. He warned that those in the country without authorization "cannot hide" and would face prosecution. That’s not exactly a welcoming mat, and it’s fueling tensions.
Operation Metro Surge, involving some 3,000 federal agents in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, has inflamed local anger, especially after two fatal shootings this month. The deaths of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, and Renee Good, also 37, during enforcement actions have led to accusations of overreach. Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith took to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to demand the operation’s end.
The shooting of Pretti by two Border Patrol agents last Saturday, alongside Good’s killing on January 7, has put federal tactics under a harsh spotlight. Administration officials initially defended both incidents, even labeling protesters as "domestic terrorists." That rhetoric, alongside the demotion of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week for her handling of the Pretti case, shows just how hot this issue burns.
Rogan, a self-professed centrist, hasn’t held back on criticizing these operations. Earlier this month, as Metro Surge escalated, he compared ICE tactics to "the Gestapo," raising alarms about militarized enforcement snatching up people, including U.S. citizens without papers on hand. That’s a gut-punching metaphor, and it lands hard.
Even anti-ICE protests in Park City, Utah, earlier this week underscore the growing unrest over federal actions. Rogan, who soured on Trump recently over immigration approaches, previously reacted with anger in March to reports of mistaken detentions in El Salvador. He called such concepts "horrific," a sentiment many might echo amid Minnesota’s turmoil.
This week, Homan met with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, with Ellison agreeing to notify ICE when migrants with detainers are released from local jails. Yet, when pressed on whether agents would arrest those whose only offense is unauthorized presence, Homan dodged a clear answer. That ambiguity isn’t exactly calming nerves.
Look at the bigger picture—Obama’s 2010 stance, as Rogan pointed out with surprise, "both unwise and unfair," framed deportations as necessary. But today, the same policies, under different leadership, spark outrage. Is it the policy itself, or just who’s enforcing it?
The clash in Minnesota, with tragic losses and federal overreach claims, isn’t just a local story—it’s a national fault line. Rogan’s reaction to Obama’s old words reminds us that immigration debates aren’t new; they just wear different masks. Maybe it’s time to ask if the system Obama called broken has been fixed—or fractured further.