Trump administration replaces ICE leaders amid deportation push
The Trump administration has begun removing senior officials at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as top aides push for faster deportations.
NBC News reported that the administration is planning to replace some regional ICE leaders with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, while Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin said the shake-up is already “underway.” ICE field office directors in at least eight major cities, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and New Orleans, are reportedly being replaced, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Two Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told that the White House has grown increasingly satisfied with CBP’s aggressive enforcement tactics, citing examples such as agents rappelling into apartment buildings from Black Hawk helicopters and jumping out of rental trucks in Home Depot parking lots. “The mentality is CBP does what they’re told, and the administration thinks ICE isn’t getting the job done. So CBP will do it,” one official said.
A Border Patrol agent quoted by Melugin defended the tougher approach: “What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst? (US border czar) Tom Homan has said it himself, anyone in the US illegally is on the table.”
Both outlets noted that DHS special employee Corey Lewandowski, a close ally of Secretary Kristi Noem, is helping lead the effort. Major leadership changes at ICE were being prepared.
The moves reflect growing tension within DHS over how to accelerate deportations, with ICE and CBP adopting differing approaches to enforcement under the current administration.
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