ICE Boss Loses His Job Over Pace of Deportations

Under Caleb Vitello, immigrant arrests have lagged Trump's goals
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 21, 2025 5:00 PM CST
Wanting More Deportations, Administration Ousts ICE Boss
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain a person on Jan. 27 in Silver Spring, Maryland.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

One month into its deportation campaign, the Trump administration—unhappy that more immigrants aren't being arrested—has removed the top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Caleb Vitello, a veteran of more than 20 years in ICE, became acting director of the agency when President Trump took office, the Washington Post reports. He's being reassigned to a senior post overseeing daily enforcement operations, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, but is "no longer in an administrative role." Vitello's replacement was not announced.

Trump and Tom Homan, his border czar, have lashed out about the number of deportations being too low, per NBC News. Homan also has said leaks to the media from the agency have depressed the number of arrests in some sweeps. Trump has ordered the largest mass deportation in US history, but ICE's budget and staffing haven't changed much, per the Post, complicating the assignment. Vitello told the 25 field office directors last month that they need to make at least 75 arrests per day, which would make the national total more than 1,200. ICE was making about 800 arrests daily in Trump's first 10 days in office but has dropped to about 600 since then. (More Immigration and Customs Enforcement stories.)

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