Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf praised the Trump administration's relaunch of the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office, known as VOICE, telling Newsmax that the program provides critical support to victims and families affected by crimes committed by people in the country illegally.

Speaking Monday on "National Report," Wolf said the administration is highlighting what he described as the human cost of illegal immigration through messages and outreach focused on victims and their families.

"I think what the department and what the Trump administration is attempting to do, and I think they're doing it very well, is to remind people this is the result of illegal immigration," Wolf said.

"These types of actions that we saw during the Biden administration, they have consequences, and they have real-life consequences for these families that now have to go throughout their life without their loved ones," he added.

Wolf said the administration wants to emphasize that crimes committed by people in the country illegally affect real victims.

"The faces and the stories that DHS is telling, I think it really starts to put it in perspective of why you need to secure the border, why you need to remove people from the country that don't have any legal right to be here," he said.

The comments come as DHS continues efforts to revive the VOICE office, which was originally established during President Donald Trump's first term in 2017 to assist victims of crimes linked to immigration and help them navigate immigration enforcement and removal proceedings.

The office was discontinued in 2021 during the Biden administration and replaced with a broader program. Then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the relaunch of VOICE in April, saying the office would once again provide resources and support services to victims and their families.

According to ICE, VOICE provides assistance to victims affected by crimes linked to immigration, including information about immigration enforcement proceedings and custody status notifications through DHS' Victim Information and Notification Exchange program.

Discussing the relaunch, Wolf said the office fills an important role for victims seeking information and support.

"Well, this is an office for victims, right? Because they want to understand what's happening with either their case or what the administration is doing so that there are not other victims like it," Wolf said.

"This was an office that was created during Trump, the first administration. President [Joe] Biden, as you can imagine, canceled the office, closed the office down essentially during the four years," he continued.

"And now President Trump and his team have reopened it back up because, again, the emphasis needs to be on the victims of these crimes and making sure that they have the resources, they have someone to talk to, and that they understand what the Trump administration is doing," said Wolf.

He added, "The office is very, very important. Glad that President Trump and his team opened it back up."

ICE recently released its first annual VOICE and DHS VINE reports following the office's reinstatement, describing the effort as part of the department's commitment to supporting victims and ensuring they receive timely information regarding immigration custody status and enforcement actions.

"I just, for the life of me, why the Biden administration would decide to close the office down and deprioritize the victims that have to endure unspeakable tragedy, I just will never understand," Wolf said.

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