The Trump administration has removed ICE Acting Director Caleb Vitello as deportation numbers have not met expectations. Vitello, who had been in the role for several months, will remain at ICE but will shift his focus to enforcement and removal operations.
Officials within the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the decision was made after ICE consistently failed to reach the daily arrest targets set by the administration. President Donald Trump and border czar Tom Homan had aimed for 1,200 to 1,500 arrests per day, yet ICE’s highest single-day total under Vitello was 1,100.
BREAKING: ICE conducted a worksite raid at a bakery in Texas. They arrested 8 illegal aliens and charged the owners with harboring and aiding illegal aliens.
The owners were charged with 8 USC 1324. This is the same statute Tom Homan has referenced multiple times.
Deport them… pic.twitter.com/PRjhcaxqia
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 21, 2025
Madison Sheahan, former head of Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, has been appointed as deputy director and will lead ICE in the interim. Sheahan has ties to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and worked with her in South Dakota.
Trump has made mass deportations a priority, launching major ICE operations in cities with large illegal immigrant populations. However, despite an increase in enforcement actions, ICE deported just over 37,600 individuals in Trump’s first month back in office—below the previous administration’s monthly average.
Abby's Bakery Los Fresnos, Texas admitting EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE was illegal and taken by ICE
“They took all the workers from here”
The business has already been updated on Google to say “Temporarily closed” pic.twitter.com/7PDgU9jlg3
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 15, 2025
ICE Arrests Texas Bakery Owners for Harboring Migrants https://t.co/zgBvz5W486
— FollowTheMoney (@F_T_M_I_N_L) February 22, 2025
Vitello is not the only ICE official to be removed from a leadership role. Russell Hott and Peter Berg, two high-ranking officials within ICE’s enforcement division, were also reassigned earlier this month.
The administration is now seeking a new ICE director to take control of deportation efforts and ensure Trump’s immigration policies are fully implemented.
