ICE Update: New Deportation Statistics as Border Patrol Expected to Lead More ICE Field Offices
The Trump Administration reports new numbers on deportations as another shakeup occurs in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership.
In a statement, the administration says it has deported 527,000 illegal migrants since President Trump took office in January.
"More than 2 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. including 1.6 million who have voluntarily self-deported and over 527,000 deportations,” said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “DHS, ICE and CBP, have not just closed the border, but made historic strides to carry out President Trump’s promise of arresting and deporting illegal aliens who have invaded our country.”
In addition, DHS points out that the US is offering illegal migrants $1,000 and a free flight if they self-deport, noting if they do so, they “reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right, legal way to live the American dream.”
However, the New Republic notes that the deportation number is “unverifiable, and almost certainly inaccurate, given that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not updated its arrest statistics since January.”
Border Patrol Set to Play Bigger Role in ICE Offices
There are also leadership shakeups in the pipeline.
According to reports, the Trump Administration plans to reassign 12 ICE field office directors and replace at least some of them with officials from U.S. Border Patrol. NewsNation says that the changes are being made in Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego.
The move to give Border Patrol greater responsibility on immigration raids could mark a new phase in the Trump Administration’s deportation plan.
As NBC News notes, “Border Patrol’s approach to recent arrests in major U.S. cities has been more aggressive, making large sweeps that have sparked some of the sharpest backlash from protesters and prompted lawsuits.”
And Fox News reports that the leadership shakeup shows growing division inside the Department of Homeland Security on how to proceed with ramping up deportations.
On one side, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, senior adviser Corey Lewandowski, and Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino are pushing for a “broader and more aggressive approach, targeting anyone in the U.S. illegally to boost deportation numbers.”
On the other ICE Director Todd Lyons and Border Czar Tom Homan are focusing on removing “criminal aliens and those with final deportation orders.”
"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 News. "It’s getting numbers, but at what cost?"
But a Border Patrol agent defended the moves.
"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."