Opinion: Think Project 2025 isn't happening? Trump's recent interview says otherwise.

Republican nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has nothing to do with the controversial Project 2025. At the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris , he said he didn’t know who was involved in creating it, and wasn’t going to read it .

It's something he has repeated over and over and over .

So why is he prepared to bring one of its writers into his potential presidential administration?

Trump called into The John Kobylt Show on KFI AM radio station in California last Tuesday ahead of his Saturday rally in Coachella . During their 50-minute conversation, Kobylt asked the former president about immigration proposals he was ready to implement on day one.

Trump, in his response, name-dropped someone from his previous administration .

"You've seen Tom Homan," Trump said. "He's coming on board."

Tom Homan is a throwback to Trump's insidious immigration plan

Homan, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 2017 to 2018, is one of the writers of Project 2025 . He's previously alluded to being part of Trump’s administration if he beats Harris this November.

“Trump comes back in January, I’ll be on his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen,” Homan said on a panel at the National Conservatism Conference in July, according to David Weigel of Semafor. “They ain’t seen sh-- yet. Wait until 2025.”

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Homan has been referred to as the father of Trump’s controversial family separation policy , which resulted in more than 5,000 children being taken from their families without a plan for reunification. The idea of bringing him back is horrific.

Project 2025 is what Republicans want for America

Project 2025 is the 922-page brainchild of the Heritage Foundation , with more than 100 conservative organizations also contributing to the project. It outlines a wish list for a second Trump presidency that includes taking down the " deep state " and giving the president more power .

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In Project 2025, the plans for the Department of Homeland Security include more deportations and more military at the southern border. It calls for the elimination of certain visas and the repeal of all temporary protected status designations. It gives ICE agents the authority to go into areas like schools and churches , which were previously off-limits.

The plan for a second Trump presidency includes gutting the Federal Emergency Management Agency , repealing portions of the Affordable Care Act , and further restricting reproductive health care access by calling on the Food and Drug Administration to reverse its approval of mifepristone and misoprostol, two drugs used in medication abortion.

Trump has mentioned parts of Project 2025 multiple times

Trump's recent radio interview was not the first time he has alluded to elements of Project 2025. He has said multiple times that he would dismantle the Department of Education if reelected, which is also outlined in the document.

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Homan isn’t the only former Trump staffer to write for Project 2025. A CNN review found that at least 140 people who previously worked for him were part of its creation. If he's already planning on bringing Homan into the picture, there's no telling who else from the project could appear in a potential second Trump Cabinet.

Clearly, Trump knows more about Project 2025 than he is letting on. If it is the blueprint for a second Trump term, we must all do our part to keep him from returning to the White House.

Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Think Project 2025 isn't happening? Trump's recent interview says otherwise.