Trump Says ICE ‘Hasn’t Gone Far Enough’ As Administration Reshuffles Immigration Enforcement Leadership

President Donald Trump has once again thrown his full support behind Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying the agency should push its immigration crackdown even further. Speaking during an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Trump argued that ICE’s efforts have been restrained by federal courts and called for a more aggressive approach to deportations.

“I don’t think they’ve gone far enough because we’ve been held back by judges — by the liberal judges that Biden and Obama put in,” Trump said, referring to recent rulings that limited ICE’s authority in certain enforcement operations.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to ramp up deportations, with the administration’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” allocating additional funding to expand ICE’s workforce by up to 10,000 new agents. The goal, according to the administration, is to facilitate the removal of as many as 21 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.

Federal officials have acknowledged that roughly two million individuals have already departed, either through deportation or voluntarily. However, Trump and his advisors want to see those numbers rise sharply in the months ahead as ICE expands its operations and personnel.

ICE Leadership Shake-Up

In a quiet but sweeping move, the Trump administration has begun reassigning senior ICE officials in five major U.S. cities — Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego — as part of a broader plan to overhaul the agency’s enforcement structure.

According to multiple sources cited by the Washington Examiner, the reassigned field office directors are being moved to new positions within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Their replacements will reportedly include senior Border Patrol agents who will oversee interior immigration enforcement in these key regions.

Three DHS officials confirmed that the reorganization is part of a larger national strategy intended to boost arrest numbers and heighten the visibility of ICE’s enforcement campaign.

“The five cities are just the beginning,” one senior official familiar with the plan said. “It’s a lot more. This is the first wave of a larger shift.”

Initially, DHS leadership considered firing the five ICE field directors outright, but acting ICE Director Todd Lyons intervened, recommending reassignment rather than termination.

“The administration wanted all these guys fired, and Todd stepped in and said, ‘Let’s move them all to headquarters instead,’” another official told the Examiner.

A New Approach to Enforcement

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds ultimate authority over staffing decisions at ICE and the Border Patrol. While DHS declined to comment directly on her involvement, officials described the shake-up as part of a broader effort to align ICE’s regional leadership with Trump’s tougher enforcement vision.

Gregory Bovino, who oversees the Border Patrol’s El Centro, California, sector, has become emblematic of that vision. Known for his assertive tactics, Bovino has been deployed to cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland to lead high-profile operations.

He was seen earlier this year marching Border Patrol agents through downtown Chicago as part of a visible demonstration of federal authority — a move that sparked both praise and protest.

“Bovino represents the new ICE model — visible, direct, and unflinching,” said a DHS official briefed on the restructuring. “He’s not the exception anymore. He’s the standard.”

In Philadelphia, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division will take over leadership responsibilities following the reassignment of Brian McShane, one of the five displaced field directors. As of Monday, DHS had not formally announced any of the personnel moves.

Accelerating Deportations

Since returning to the White House, President Trump has made immigration enforcement one of his administration’s defining priorities. Officials estimate that deportations could reach 600,000 by January 2026 if ICE maintains its current trajectory.

Earlier this year, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller reportedly instructed ICE to aim for 3,000 arrests per day — an ambitious target that would amount to more than one million annual detentions.

Critics, including immigration advocates and several state governors, argue that Trump’s approach is overly aggressive and risks sowing fear among immigrant communities. However, supporters see it as a long-overdue return to law and order after what they describe as years of lax enforcement.

For Trump, the message is clear: ICE has his backing to go even further. “We’re taking our country back,” he said. “And that starts with enforcing our laws.”