Trump Orders ICE Purge of Top Officials as Deportations Fall Short

President Donald Trump has axed two top officials from their positions at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as pressure mounts for the federal agency to meet his ambitious deportation targets.

Russell Hott and Peter Berg, two of most senior officials in ICE’s enforcement division, have been demoted and will be reassigned to the Washington field office and to St. Paul, Minnesota, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday evening, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

The news comes after a Trump administration official told CNN last week that federal immigration authorities have made some 8,000 arrests since the president was sworn in for a second term on Jan. 20—a figure the White House isn’t satisfied with.

Trump pledged to deport “millions” of immigrants when he took office.

ICE is “treading water,” the Trump administration official told CNN. “They’re way behind.”

Between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31, ICE arrested more than 8,200 immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, according to data published by the federal agency on X.

Trump’s demands aren’t being met despite some officers working overtime at some locations, current and former ICE officials told the Post.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, suggested the latest federal shake-up is to ensure the ICE is held accountable for not meeting Trump’s deportation goals.

“ICE needs a culture of accountability that it has been starved of for the past four years,” she told the Post in an emailed statement. “We have a President, DHS Secretary, and American people who rightfully demand results, and our ICE leadership will ensure the agency delivers.”

According to Reuters, Trump is unhappy as arrests of illegal immigrants died down this month after surging to some 800 to 1,200 per day in late January.

Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan said Tuesday he’s also “not satisfied” with the current rate of arrests.

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“If you look at the rest of interior enforcement, it’s about three times higher than it was a year ago today. Three times higher is good, but I’m not satisfied. There are more criminal aliens that need to be arrested, hundreds of thousands,” he said.

Pope Francis ripped into Trump on Tuesday, warning in an open letter to U.S. bishops that his mass deportation plan “will end badly.”