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A mass shakeup of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership is underway amid growing friction inside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over deportation tactics and priorities, according to four senior DHS officials.
The overhaul affects ICE field offices in at least eight cities and will replace many senior leaders with Border Patrol officials, marking an unprecedented power shift inside DHS and exposing sharp divisions over how far to go in ramping up deportations, the officials told Fox News.
The changes are being driven by competing camps inside DHS.
On one side are Border Czar Tom Homan and ICE Director Todd Lyons, who have advocated focusing on criminal aliens and those with final deportation orders.
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On the other side are DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, senior adviser Corey Lewandowski and Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino, who have pushed for a broader and more aggressive approach, targeting anyone in the U.S. illegally to boost deportation numbers.
Two senior officials described the mood inside DHS as “tense” and “combative,” with some ICE leaders warning the new approach could erode public support and blur the line between ICE and Border Patrol operations.
“ICE started off with the worst of the worst, knowing every target they are hitting, but since Border Patrol came to LA in June, we’ve lost our focus, going too hard, too fast, with limited prioritization,” one senior DHS official told Fox. “It’s getting numbers, but at what cost?”
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Another senior official put it bluntly, “ICE is arresting criminal aliens. They [Border Patrol] are hitting Home Depots and car washes.”
Border Patrol agents have defended the new strategy.
“What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst?” one agent told Fox News. “Tom Homan has said it himself — anyone in the U.S. illegally is on the table.”
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The internal friction comes as deportation totals remain below targets set by the administration earlier this year. Officials told Fox News that the latest round of reassignments impacts ICE field chiefs in Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, Portland, Philadelphia, El Paso and New Orleans — positions expected to be filled by Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.
A separate DHS official confirmed the personnel changes, describing them as “performance-based” and designed “to move people around for the best results.”
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: “While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump administration remains laser focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country.”
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