The Trump administration is reassigning at least half the top leadership at Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices around the country in a major shake-up of the agency responsible for carrying out the president’s vision for mass deportations, according to one current and one former U.S. 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—the officers who run the network of field offices responsible for immigration enforcement—were being reassigned. Half are to be replaced by existing or retired Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff, while the other half would be replaced by ICE officers.
The former official added that leaders in another four cities were being swapped out due to retirements or other circumstances. The cities affected include major immigration enforcement targets such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington. ICE leadership has been discussing these changes as part of a broader review of the agency.
The personnel changes reflect a significant turnover in ICE, which has seen deployment of law enforcement in major American cities, leading to thousands of arrests and heightened fear in immigrant communities. With 25 field offices nationwide, the reassignment of 12 directors represents a substantial restructuring in the enforcement strategies.
Homeland Security and the White House have not commented directly on the reassignments but emphasized unity among immigration enforcement entities. Integrating Border Patrol officers into ICE roles is viewed as a crucial move, especially in light of criticisms regarding CBP’s methods in immigration enforcement.
This change marks the third major personnel overhaul at ICE during Trump's presidency and illustrates the department's ongoing efforts to rigorously pursue immigration policy goals, a central tenet of the Trump administration's platform.
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—the officers who run the network of field offices responsible for immigration enforcement—were being reassigned. Half are to be replaced by existing or retired Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff, while the other half would be replaced by ICE officers.
The former official added that leaders in another four cities were being swapped out due to retirements or other circumstances. The cities affected include major immigration enforcement targets such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington. ICE leadership has been discussing these changes as part of a broader review of the agency.
The personnel changes reflect a significant turnover in ICE, which has seen deployment of law enforcement in major American cities, leading to thousands of arrests and heightened fear in immigrant communities. With 25 field offices nationwide, the reassignment of 12 directors represents a substantial restructuring in the enforcement strategies.
Homeland Security and the White House have not commented directly on the reassignments but emphasized unity among immigration enforcement entities. Integrating Border Patrol officers into ICE roles is viewed as a crucial move, especially in light of criticisms regarding CBP’s methods in immigration enforcement.
This change marks the third major personnel overhaul at ICE during Trump's presidency and illustrates the department's ongoing efforts to rigorously pursue immigration policy goals, a central tenet of the Trump administration's platform.
