ICE Leadership Shake-up in Major U.S. Cities
Recent administrative changes within the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have seen key officials in major cities, including Phoenix, reassigned to new locations across the country. This reshuffling comes in the wake of a federal funding boost for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to a report from the Washington Examiner, John Cantu, the Phoenix Field Office Director, is among five officers who have been relocated. Other affected cities include Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Diego.
ICE, which operates under the DHS, focuses on immigration enforcement within U.S. borders, while the Border Patrol is primarily responsible for monitoring and securing the nation’s border. The newly approved federal funding bill allocates billions in resources to both ICE and DHS.
In a conversation with Fox News, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin highlighted the department’s intention to increase arrest numbers significantly. She noted, “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.”
Despite inquiries, a spokesperson from DHS did not confirm whether Cantu’s reassignment was a result of insufficient deportation activities. Additionally, there was no clarification on whether Border Patrol agents will replace the reassigned ICE officers.
When pressed for more information, DHS referred to a tweet by McLaughlin, which stated, “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.”
