President-elect Donald Trump announced Caleb Vitello, a senior ICE official, as the leader of the 20,000-person federal agency inside the Department of Homeland Security late Thursday evening, ending a monthlong debate over who would be selected for the coveted job.
This from washingtonexaminer.com.
Sources told the Washington Examiner:
Trump’s selection of Caleb Vitello as the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is part of the incoming administration’s effort to push out [The Regime’s] holdover on Day One and begin carrying out the mass deportation.
Trump said in a statement:
Caleb’s exceptional leadership, extensive experience, and commitment to ICE’s mission make him an excellent choice to implement my efforts to enhance the safety and security of American communities who have been victimized by illegal alien crime.
Acting ICE Director Patrick “PJ” Lechleitner has been at the helm since June 2023 but is not seen in the Trump world as right to continue in the job.
Officials involved in the transition on homeland security matters did not specify if Trump planned to nominate Vitello in the future or just use him as an immediate placeholder.
One source close to the transition team said Vitello is:
[A] good temporary pick that removes [The Obiden Regime] appointee with a seasoned … enforcement-minded leader who had experience in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Vitello has overseen the Fugitive Operations Academy, served as deputy assistant director, and led the National Fugitive Operations Program. That last job makes him a fitting pick for the mass deportations and arrests Trump is planning.
At the National Fugitive Operations Program, Vitello provided policy guidance, strategic planning, and operational oversight of ICE efforts to locate, arrest, and remove at-large criminals and illegal immigrants from the United States.
Later, as the chief of staff for ICE ERO, Vitello managed daily operations for the $4.7 billion budget organization and oversaw 8,000 employees.
An adviser on homeland security matters to the Trump transition team said:
Vitello [is] a great choice and had significant experience working with the White House in 2018.
Vitello worked on the White House National Security Council, in which he led initiatives on national security and child safety threats.
A second source wrote in a text message on Friday:
He had a close working relationship with Stephen Miller. Miller liked him a lot and relied heavily on him. Caleb was regularly the voice of reason in those West Wing meetings.
ICE has been without a confirmed leader since Sarah Saldaña under former President Barack Obama in late 2016. Since then, it has been led by officials in temporary, nevertheless long-term, capacities. This is expected to continue, at least in the short term.
When Trump took office in 2017, he asked then-acting ICE Director Tom Homan to stay on and lead ICE until a permanent nominee could be selected. That never happened.
Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance have touted plans to start by arresting and deporting the 500,000 to 1 million illegal immigrants with criminal records.
In addition to criminals, the Trump-Vance administration wants to remove the people who have already been ordered by a federal immigration judge to be removed.
According to the Wall Street Journal:
In total, roughly 1.3 million people have been ordered deported and are still in the U.S.
One in 5 voters in battleground states identified immigration and border security as their top concerns in the days after the Nov. 5 election, according to exit polling conducted by a conservative nonprofit organization.
