ICE officials in major cities replaced with Border Patrol
WASHINGTON— The Trump administration is initiating a leadership shakeup at about a dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices to bring more aggressive enforcement operations across the United States.
According to reports, some departing field office directors at ICE are expected to be replaced by leaders from Customs and Border Protection. Leaders targeted for replacement include Los Angeles Field Office Director Ernesto Santacruz and San Diego Field Office Director Patrick Divver. The Washington Examiner reported Monday.
The growing role of Border Patrol leaders in domestic inspections, historically ICE territory, points to the evolution of tactics emerging in California.
In late December, Gregory Bovino, who heads the Border Patrol’s El Centro district, led a three-day raid into rural Kern County, capturing day laborers more than 300 miles from his typical range. Former Biden administration officials said Bovino went “rogue” and that no agency leaders had prior knowledge of the operation.
Bovino took advantage of the spectacle to become the point person on the scene on the Trump Administration’s signature issue.
Using stylish social media videos to promote the agency’s heavy-handed tactics, the three-decade veteran of the Border Patrol has brought militarized operations once used primarily at the border to America’s largest cities.
In Los Angeles this summer, squads of heavily armed, masked agents began chasing and arresting day laborers, street vendors and car wash workers. Tensions increased when the administration ordered the National Guard.
Those efforts appear to have become more aggressive following a Supreme Court decision that allowed authorities to stop people based on factors such as race or ethnicity, employment and speaking Spanish.
Bovino moved operations to Chicago and stepped up his approach. Immigration officers raided a crowded apartment overnight, sprayed tear gas into a crowd of protesters, and fatally shot one person.
Now Bovino is expected to personally select some replacements from ICE field offices. According to Fox News.
Tom Wong, who directs the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at UC San Diego, said the leadership changes were not surprising given Bovino’s strategies in Los Angeles and Chicago.
“The Trump administration is blurring the distinction between Border Patrol and ICE,” he said. “The border is no longer just the external borders of the United States; the border is everywhere.”
Former Homeland Security officials said the large-scale replacement of executives at one agency with executives at another agency was unprecedented.
The two agencies have similar powers but their approaches are very different, said Daniel Altman, former head of domestic oversight investigations at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
ICE officers operate largely domestically, rely heavily on investigations, and generally know who they are targeting when they set out for the day.
The Border Patrol, on the other hand, patrols the border areas for anyone they encounter and are suspected of entering illegally. Amid the rugged terrain and isolation, the Border Patrol has built a do-it-yourself mentality within the century-old organization, Altman said.
“Culturally, the Border Patrol prides itself on solving problems, and that means that whatever the current administration needs or wants regarding immigration enforcement, it is generally very willing and able to do that,” Altman said.
The White House administration is not satisfied with the number of arrests. Stephen Miller, President Trump’s deputy chief of staff who oversees immigration initiatives, set a goal of 3,000 immigration arrests a day, but the agency has fallen short of that goal.
DHS says it expects to deport 600,000 people by January; This figure includes people sent back from the border or airports.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, did not confirm or deny the changes but said immigration officials are united.
“Talk about sensationalism,” he said. “Only the media can describe standard agency staff changes as a ‘major change.’ If we have specific personnel moves to announce, we will do so.”
“The President’s entire team is working in concert to implement the President’s policy agenda, and the tremendous results are evident, from securing the border to deporting criminal, illegal aliens,” White House press secretary Abigail Jackson said.
on Fox News On Tuesday, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said the administration was committed to ensuring record deportations of immigrants with criminal records first.
“As for personnel changes, that is within the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security,” he said. “I work in the White House with people like Stephen Miller, one of the brightest people I have ever met, to develop strategic policies and plans for how to achieve success, how to sustain success, and how to get the numbers even higher.”
Deborah Fleischaker, a former ICE and DHS official under the Biden administration, said the personnel moves appear to be “an attempt to bring the Border Patrol ethos to ICE.”
“ICE’s work has historically focused on targeting and taking action against public safety threats,” he said. “Border Patrol has a much more militarized mission of securing the border, protecting against cross-border crime, drug smuggling, and smuggling. That kind of approach doesn’t belong in our cities, and it’s very dangerous.”
Fleischaker said it would be difficult to increase deportations even with Border Patrol leaders in charge because of the complexity of securing travel documents and negotiations with countries hesitant to accept deportees.
Meanwhile, changing the direction of popular leaders would lower morale, he said.
“For the people who are still out there, everyone knows that if you follow these rules, you could risk losing your job,” he said. “Dissent, failure to achieve goals, or even asking questions are not tolerated.”
On Tuesday, DHS posted a video montage of Bovino on its Instagram page, set to Coldplay’s “Viva la screw.” The headline read: “WE WILL NOT BE STOPPED.”
Staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
