Significant Reassignments Among ICE Leaders in Key U.S. Cities
Recent developments in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have led to notable shifts in leadership within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). John Cantu, the Phoenix Field Office Director, is among several ICE officials recently reassigned to different locations across the country.
The Washington Examiner earlier reported on this reshuffling, noting that officers from cities including Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Diego were also affected by the changes.
These moves come amidst broader operational adjustments within the Department of Homeland Security, where ICE is responsible for domestic immigration enforcement, while the Border Patrol focuses on border security.
In conjunction with these personnel changes, recent legislation has provided substantial new funding to both ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, aimed at bolstering their operational capacity.
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin highlighted in an interview with Fox News that the additional resources are intended to increase arrest numbers significantly. She mentioned that Border Patrol agents are now actively participating in arrests within the country’s interior, with noticeable activities in locations like Los Angeles and Chicago.
“We now have Border Patrol agents who are actually making arrests in the interior of our country. You’re seeing that out of Los Angeles, you’re seeing that out of Chicago, and now we’re getting an even greater workforce, so I think you’re going to be seeing more surges in arrests as well,” McLaughlin stated.
Despite these changes, the Department of Homeland Security has not clarified if Cantu’s reassignment and those of other officers are directly related to deportation performance metrics. Furthermore, there is no confirmation on whether Border Patrol agents will replace these ICE officials.
In response to inquiries, DHS guided reporters to a tweet by McLaughlin. The tweet emphasized the unified efforts of the department, stating, “This is one team, one fight. President Trump has a brilliant, tenacious team led by @Sec_Noem to deliver on the American people’s mandate to remove criminal illegal aliens from this country. … As we said, we have no personnel changes to announce right now but we remain laser focused on RESULTS and we will deliver.”
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