Immigration and Customs Enforcement is undergoing one of its largest internal leadership reorganizations in years, as the Trump administration seeks to accelerate its immigration-arrest and deportation agenda.
One current and one former U.S. government official told The Associated Press that at least 12 of ICE’s 25 field-office directors are being reassigned — almost half the agency’s regional leadership.
Officials also spoke with Axios on the condition of anonymity, saying the shake-up was driven by pressure from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security on ICE to meet more aggressive enforcement and removal targets.
The Washington Examiner first reported on the Monday wave of reassignments. The displaced directors include those at major offices in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Denver, and Portland, Oregon.
Officials said half the reassignments will be filled by current or retired officials from Customs and Border Protection and the other half by ICE officers, a clear move to bring more Border Patrol-style enforcement leadership into ICE’s domestic operations.
DHS and the White House declined to detail the reasoning for the personnel changes. Instead, both emphasized unity across the agency.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said publicly in March that a “culture of accountability” must be reinstated at ICE and named new top leadership to help meet the Trump administration’s mandate.
The reassignments come amid mounting frustration within the administration over ICE’s pace of arrests and deportations. Reports had surfaced earlier this year that ICE leaders had been reassigned after the agency failed to meet daily arrest quotas reportedly set by senior White House officials.
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