Top ICE Officials Reassigned Amid Strain To Meet Trump Deportation Goals

ICE — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wait to detain a person in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Jan. 27. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Two of the top officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been removed from their jobs amid frustration among Trump officials that officers aren’t ramping up arrests and deportations fast enough to meet the president’s goals and that some immigrant detainees have been released, according to three people with knowledge of the move.

ICE staff were informed in an email Tuesday that Russell Hott and Peter Berg, the top two officials in the enforcement division of ICE, have been reassigned, according to the three people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the internal memo.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed the demotions in an emailed statement. “ICE needs a culture of accountability that it has been starved of for the past four years,” she said. “We have a President, DHS Secretary, and American people who rightfully demand results, and our ICE leadership will ensure the agency delivers.”

Senior officials have been under significant pressure from the White House since President Donald Trump took office promising “millions” of deportations. ICE quickly ramped up arrests, and Trump officials promoted their campaign on live television. But over the past week ICE has stopped issuing daily arrest figures, and the agency has struggled to keep pace with White House demands, even though officers are working six or even seven days a week at some locations, according to current and former ICE officials.

Caleb Vitello, the acting director of ICE, told the agency’s top officials last month that each of ICE’s 25 field offices should be making 75 arrests per day for a total of 1,200 to 1,500 nationwide. Trump aide Stephen Miller told CNN that quota was a “floor, not a ceiling.”

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