Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
ICE Official Reassigned Amid Frustrations Over Mass Deportation Effort
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 months ago on
February 21, 2025

Trump administration reshuffles immigration enforcement leadership as it pushes for faster deportations of undocumented immigrants. (AP File)

Share

WASHINGTON — The top official in charge of carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportations agenda has been reassigned amid concerns that the deportation effort isn’t moving fast enough.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Friday that Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was “no longer in an administrative role, but is instead overseeing all field and enforcement operations: finding, arresting, and deporting illegal aliens, which is a major priority of the President and Secretary (Kristi) Noem.”

The statement made no mention of why Vitello, a career ICE official with more than two decades on the job, was reassigned or who his replacement will be. White House officials have expressed frustration with the pace of deportations of people in the country illegally.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the decision to reassign Vitello came from the Homeland Security secretary and not from the president.

Immigration Enforcement a Key Priority

The decision comes a little over one month into the new administration, showing how important immigration and carrying out mass deportations are to the Trump administration.

ICE — specifically, its Enforcement and Removal Operations arm — is the key agency tasked with carrying out the Republican president’s pledge of mass deportations of people in the country illegally during his second term.

Last week Tom Homan, the White House border czar tasked with carrying out Trump’s immigration agenda across the federal government, said arrests inside the U.S. — as opposed to people arrested as they’re crossing the border — are about three times higher than they were this time last year, under President Joe Biden. But he said it still wasn’t enough.

“I’m not satisfied,” Homan said. “We got to get more.”

At the time, Homan also said he had talked to ICE leadership about the number of people who had been released from immigration custody. From now on, he said, no one would be released without ICE leadership signing off.

“The number of releases was unacceptable,” Homan said, “and that’s been fixed.”

Limited Data on Arrests and Deportations

The Trump administration has released limited information about how many people in the country illegally have been arrested.

From Jan. 23 to Jan. 31, officials shared data on X daily, then stopped publishing information. The agency’s data dashboard has more information, but those quarterly figures are only current as of September 2024.

During the seven-day day period when ICE released daily data, the daily average was 787 arrests, compared with 311 during a 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Challenges in Implementing Mass Deportations

Carrying out deportations, especially in high numbers, poses logistical challenges.

There are a limited number of enforcement and removal officers — those tasked with tracking down, arresting and removing people in the country illegally — and the number of officers has remained stagnant for years. ICE also has a limited number of detention beds to hold people once arrested and a limited number of planes to remove them from the country.

The Trump administration has augmented ICE’s fleet of charter planes with U.S. military planes and has pulled in officers from other agencies to help carry out immigration enforcement operations.

The administration has repeatedly said its first priority is migrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. or pose a threat, but those arrests often require intensive staffing and time.

“They’re asking ICE and law enforcement to defy math,” said Jason Houser, the former chief of staff at ICE under the Biden administration.

Vitello most recently was the assistant director for firearms and tactical programs before being tapped as the acting director.

He’s also served on the National Security Council and held positions at ICE directly related to the agency’s enforcement operations.

ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed leader in years.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

DON'T MISS

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Says It Is Suspending Enforcement of Biden-Era Farmworker Rule

DON'T MISS

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

DON'T MISS

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

DON'T MISS

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

DON'T MISS

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

DON'T MISS

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Possible Over Next Week

DON'T MISS

Ohio Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening US Congressman Max Miller

UP NEXT

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Says It Is Suspending Enforcement of Biden-Era Farmworker Rule

UP NEXT

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

UP NEXT

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

UP NEXT

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

UP NEXT

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

UP NEXT

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

UP NEXT

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Possible Over Next Week

UP NEXT

Ohio Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening US Congressman Max Miller

UP NEXT

Town Hall Unveils New Season With Best-Selling Authors, ‘Jeopardy!’ Host, and More

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

6 hours ago

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

6 hours ago

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

6 hours ago

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

6 hours ago

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

7 hours ago

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Possible Over Next Week

7 hours ago

Ohio Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening US Congressman Max Miller

7 hours ago

Town Hall Unveils New Season With Best-Selling Authors, ‘Jeopardy!’ Host, and More

7 hours ago

Trump Says His Spy Chief Gabbard Wrong on Iran’s Nuclear Program

8 hours ago

Fresno Police Investigate Fatal Shooting, Seek Public’s Help

9 hours ago

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked Louisiana from enforcing a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms of ...

4 hours ago

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of restrictions imposed by lower courts on its ability to encourage social media companies to remove content deemed misinformation, in Washington, U.S., March 18, 2024. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

A view of the Voice of America (VOA) building, a day after more than 1,300 of the employees of the media broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages, were placed on leave in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 16, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

A farmworker repairs irrigation lines at a tomato farm in Woodland, California, U.S. May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Trump Administration Says It Is Suspending Enforcement of Biden-Era Farmworker Rule

The Ruth Fire in Yokuts Valley has burned 14 acres, destroyed one structure on Friday, June 20, 2025,, and is 20% contained as firefighters continue battling the blaze in steep terrain. (CalFire)
6 hours ago

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

A federal appeals court struck down California’s “one-gun-per-month” law Friday, June 20, 2025, in a 3-0 decision, ruling it unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. (Shutterstock)
6 hours ago

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

Cage-Free chickens are shown inside a facility in Lakeside, California, U.S., April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One upon his arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., June 20, 2025. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)
6 hours ago

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

7 hours ago

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend