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Trump administration is reappointing at least half of its top leadership Immigration and Customs Enforcement There has been a massive shakeup at the agency responsible for carrying out the president’s vision for mass deportations, according to a current and a former US government official.
The current official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, said 12 ICE field office directors — officers who run the network of field offices across the country responsible for immigration enforcement — are being reassigned.
Half to be replaced by existing or retired Customs and Border Protection employees, while the other half will be replaced by ICE officers, both current and former officials said. The current official said the changes were initiated by the Department of Homeland Security, without specifying which cities were affected.
In addition to the 12 reappointments, leaders in another four cities are being shuffled through retirement or other circumstances, said the former official, who has direct knowledge of the changes and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that was not meant for public release. He said the cities include major immigration enforcement targets such as chicagoLos Angeles and Washington,
He said ICE leadership has been discussing the changes with other Trump administration officials for some time as part of a broader review of the agency.
The reason for the personnel change was not immediately clear. But they signal broader integration of Border Patrol agents into ICE at a time when Customs and Border Protection has been accused of using heavy-handed tactics in its immigration enforcement.
A major change in Trump’s immigration enforcement leadership
With a total of 25 field offices across the country, the reappointments amount to a turnover of about half or more of the top staff carrying out the president’s tough immigration enforcement plans, which have seen a massive deployment of law enforcement in major US cities, thousands of arrests and heightened fear among residents, especially in immigrant communities.
Homeland Security and white House The reassignments did not comment and instead each highlighted that all elements of immigration enforcement were working as a team.
Putting Customs and Border Protection officers in top positions within Immigration and Customs Enforcement would create an expanded role for an agency that has already been at the forefront of many of the aggressive tactics seen in both Los Angeles and now Chicago.
CBP officers – particularly Border Patrol agents – have carried out some of the most controversial operations as part of the immigration crackdown in both of those cities, including a recent raid in Chicago, where officers attacked a building at an apartment complex from a helicopter. Border Patrol agents also climbed out of a moving truck and chased people and patrolled through downtown Chicago.
Border Patrol agents protect the lands and waters between official border crossings to prevent human trafficking, drug smuggling or other types of contraband from entering the U.S. Since its creation in 2003, it is the main agency responsible for immigration enforcement inside the country.
But during the Trump administration, Border Patrol agents have been taking part in immigration enforcement operations across the country, away from their traditional duties.
California Border Patrol Field Chief Gregory Bovino, who leads Border Patrol operations in both cities, is himself accused of throwing tear gas canisters at protesters and took the stand Tuesday as a defendant in a federal lawsuit over whether federal officers are using excessive force in Chicago.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement says its agents conduct “targeted enforcement operations” that often take hours to arrest people they are trying to expel from the country.
This is the latest in a series of personnel changes
This is the third change at ICE since Trump took office, reflecting the importance of the agency’s role in executing the president’s vision.
In February, Homeland Security reassigned ICE Acting Director Caleb Vitello to another position. Veteran ICE agent Todd Lyons was later announced as the new acting head of the agency, a position he still holds.
Then in May, ICE announced the reassignment of two top officials leading the agency’s main branches.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security, had no comment Tuesday on the personnel changes, but said in a statement that the department is “focused on results and we will deliver results.”
“It’s a team, a fight,” she said. “President (Donald) Trump has a brilliant, determined team led by Secretary (Kristi) Noem to carry out the mandate of the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens from this country.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in an emailed statement: “The President’s entire team is working in lockstep to implement the President’s policy agenda, and the tremendous results from securing the border to deporting criminal illegal aliens speak for themselves.”
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Spaghette reported from Chicago.