Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has reassigned its top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following concerns that arrests and deportations have fallen short of expectations, a senior Trump official and two other sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Caleb Vitello, who had been serving as ICE’s acting head, faced mounting pressure to intensify enforcement after multiple high-ranking ICE officials were reassigned last week. While Vitello will continue to oversee enforcement operations, he will no longer hold an administrative role, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
Trump, who reclaimed the White House on a pledge to implement a sweeping immigration crackdown, has encountered an initial slowdown in deportations during his first month in office. However, his administration has been laying the groundwork for a more aggressive approach to immigration enforcement in the coming months.
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To fill the leadership gap at ICE, Madison Sheahan, currently the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, will join the agency as deputy director. Until a permanent director is appointed, she will serve as the agency’s top official, according to a senior Trump official and another source familiar with the decision.
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Sheahan previously worked alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when Noem was governor of South Dakota, further solidifying ties between the Trump administration and officials with state-level enforcement experience.
