WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is reassigning at least half the top leadership at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices around the country in a significant overhaul of the agency responsible for executing the president’s strict immigration policy. This reshuffle affects 12 ICE field office directors who oversee the enforcement activities across the country.
The reassignments will see half of the affected directors replaced by current or retired Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel, while the other half will come from within ICE itself. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiated these changes, although details on the specific locations affected were not provided.
Additionally, leaders in four other cities are also being replaced due to retirements and other factors, including significant immigration hubs such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. These changes denote a larger integration of CBP agents into ICE, reflecting a strategy to enhance immigration enforcement during a time of heightened scrutiny over the tactics used by federal officers.
Homeland Security and the White House have not revealed the motivations behind these personnel shifts but have emphasized a collaborative approach to immigration enforcement. This revamp is the latest in a series of changes at ICE under the Trump administration aimed at tightening immigration controls across major American cities, provoking fear among immigrant communities.
With 25 field offices nationwide, this turnover amounts to a significant portion of the top staff involved in carrying out Trump’s hardline immigration vision, which has emphasized aggressive law enforcement in cities across the United States.
As the agency faces mounting criticism for its controversial immigration tactics, such as the deployment of Border Patrol agents outside traditional border areas, these leadership changes come at a pivotal time for ICE. The approach has raised concerns about excessive force, particularly in major urban centers.
This transition mirrors previous shifts at ICE since the beginning of the Trump administration, indicating that the enforcement of immigration policies remains a critical focus for the current administration. White House representatives have reiterated the commitment to executing the president’s directives in removing undocumented immigrants and enhancing border security.
