WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration plans to reassign at least half of the top leaders at Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies nationwide as part of a major overhaul of the agency responsible for carrying out the president’s vision of mass deportations, according to one current and former U.S. official.
The current official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, said 12 ICE field office directors, the employees who run the nationwide network of immigration enforcement field offices, will be reassigned.
Half of the positions will be replaced by current or retired Customs and Border Protection employees, and the other half will be replaced by ICE agents, according to current and former officials. The change was initiated by the Department of Homeland Security, current officials said, but did not say which cities would be affected.
In addition to the 12 reassignments, leaders in four other cities are being replaced due to retirements or other reasons, said a former official with direct knowledge of the changes, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss information not intended for public release. He said these cities include major immigration enforcement targets such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington.
He added that ICE leadership has been discussing the changes with other Trump administration officials for some time as part of a broader review of the agency.
The reason for the personnel change was not immediately clear. But they signal increased integration of Border Patrol agents into ICE at a time when Customs and Border Protection has been accused of using heavy-handed tactics in immigration enforcement.
Major changes will occur in President Trump’s leadership of immigration authorities
With a total of 25 field offices across the country, the reassignment represents the departure of more than half of the top staff responsible for carrying out the president’s tough immigration enforcement plan. The plan has led to heavy law enforcement deployments in major American cities, thousands of arrests and heightened fear among residents, particularly in immigrant communities.
The Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not comment on the reassignment, instead emphasizing that all elements of immigration enforcement are working as one team.
Putting a Customs and Border Protection official in the top position at Immigration and Customs Enforcement would expand the role of an agency that is already on the front lines of many of the aggressive tactics seen in both Los Angeles and now Chicago.
CBP agents, particularly Border Patrol agents, have carried out some of the most controversial operations as part of immigration enforcement in both of these cities. Including the recent attack. In Chicago, police rappelled from a helicopter into an apartment building. Border patrol agents It also jumped out of a moving truck. He then patrolled downtown Chicago, chasing people.
Border Patrol agents protect the land and water between official border crossings to prevent human trafficking, drug smuggling, and other contraband from entering the United States. Since its establishment in 2003, ICE has been the main agency responsible for domestic immigration enforcement.
But under the Trump administration, Border Patrol agents are taking part in immigration enforcement operations across the country, a far cry from their traditional duties.
Gregory BovinoThe Border Patrol chief from California, who has been leading Border Patrol operations in both cities, is also accused of throwing tear gas canisters at protesters. took a stand Tuesday as a defendant in a federal lawsuit over whether federal officers used excessive force in Chicago.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement says its officers are conducting “targeted enforcement operations.” spend hours on a stakeout The people they are trying to expel from the country.
It is the latest in a series of personnel changes.
This is the third ICE overhaul since President Trump took office, and reflects the importance of ICE’s role in carrying out the president’s vision.
In February, Department of Homeland Security reappoints Caleb Vitellothe acting director of ICE was transferred to another post. Todd Lyons, a veteran ICE official, was subsequently announced as the new acting director, a position he currently holds.
Then, in May, ICE announced the reassignment of two of its top executives leading the agency’s major divisions.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin did not comment on the changes Tuesday, but said in a statement that the department remains “focused on results, and we will deliver.”
“This is one team, one fight,” she said. “President (Donald) Trump has a talented and tenacious team led by Secretary (Kristi) Noem to fulfill the American people’s mission to remove criminal illegal aliens from this country.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference in Minneapolis, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Kerem Yucel//Minnesota Public Radio, via AP)
“The president’s entire team is working in unison to implement his policy agenda, and our tremendous accomplishments from border security to deporting criminal illegal aliens speak for themselves,” White House press secretary Abigail Jackson said in an emailed statement.
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Spagat reported from Chicago.
