The Trump administration has removed its acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of its effort to increase arrests and deportations of illegal aliens.
Acting director Caleb Vitello, who was picked by President Donald Trump for the job, is now out of that position, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.
“Caleb Vitello, acting director of ICE, is no longer in an Administrator role,” a representative of the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News.
“He is, however, overseeing all field and enforcement operations: finding, arresting, and deporting illegal aliens, which is a major priority of President Trump and Secretary Noem,” the spokesperson added.
In a comment to the Journal, a DHS representative said Vitello, a longtime ICE official who worked with Trump during his first administration, is “actually being elevated.”
The Journal report said Madison Sheahan, Louisiana’s secretary for wildlife and fisheries, is expected to join ICE in a senior role, but that it’s not clear who the agency’s next director will be.
The Journal report said arrests have not been hitting the national goal of 1,500 per day. Trump made large-scale deportations a cornerstone of his presidential campaign.
Fox said there were 11,791 interior ICE arrests from Jan. 20 to Feb. 8, a 137 percent increase from the 4,969 in the same time period in 2024.
Mass deportations keep Americans SAFE! pic.twitter.com/3U1ui5RLWF
— ACT For America (@ACTforAmerica) February 22, 2025
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Capacity and resources are two factors impacting arrests.
The New York Times said the Trump administration will create detention centers at military sites to house illegal immigrants after arrest but prior to deportation, addressing a shortage of places to put them.
A site at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas, could house up to 10,000 illegal immigrants. The report said the site would initially house 1,000 illegal immigrants.
The Times report said other sites under consideration include locations in Florida, New Jersey, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Wyoming, Washington, California, and New York.
As for resources, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has added 600 State Department Diplomatic Security Service personnel to the roster of staff who can arrest illegal immigrants, according to a DHS news release.
“Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to secure our border and get criminal illegal aliens out of our country,” Noem said. “The safety of American citizens comes first.”
President Trump and this Administration are saving lives every day because of the actions we are taking to secure the border and deport illegal alien criminals.
President Trump declaring the cartels as terrorist organizations will unlock new tools to go after them.
Hundreds of… pic.twitter.com/t51gxWS2wJ
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) February 21, 2025
The Senate has done its part as well, moving forward with a budget that will give the Trump administration more money to battle illegal immigration, according to the Associated Press.
The Senate plan would spend $175 billion on border security, including large-scale deportations and more funding for the border wall.
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