The recent shakeup inside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was long overdue and came after the administration made clear it was fed up with the slow pace of interior arrests and removals. Two top ICE officials were reassigned amid growing frustration in Washington that the agency had not been executing the enforcement mission with the urgency the American people demand.
One of the more consequential moves promoted a veteran field chief with a track record of decisive action to oversee national removal operations, while another acting leader was reassigned on or about February 21, 2025 as part of the reorganization. These are not cosmetic changes — they are the kind of personnel shifts you make when you mean to reverse a culture of release-and-appease and restore accountability.
Border Czar Tom Homan, who has pushed relentlessly for tougher interior enforcement, didn’t mince words about what needs to happen next, saying plainly that “we’ve all been, you know, pushing for more arrests, more deportations” and that current arrest levels are still not enough. Homan’s blunt assessment reflects a simple fact: if you care about public safety, you prioritize removing those here unlawfully who threaten our communities.
Conservatives should celebrate this shakeup because it signals a return to the rule of law and common-sense enforcement of our borders and immigration statutes. For years Democrats and sanctuary city officials have treated illegal immigration as a political talking point while people in the heartland pay the price — higher crime, strained schools, and weakened social services. It’s time to stop rewarding lawbreaking and start protecting hardworking Americans.
Even as Homan and others tighten enforcement, news reports indicate Homan is stepping down from his role after a high-profile, if short, tenure at the national level, a reminder that this fight will require many more committed public servants to carry the torch. The American people should demand that successors maintain the same backbone and refuse to return to the old business-as-usual approach that accepted mass releases and weak removals.
What should worry Democrats is that real enforcement now has allies at the local level who were once silent — even New York City officials have talked about reinstating ICE presence where it matters, and Homan has warned state leaders that cooperation is not optional if they want safe streets. That pressure is exactly what’s needed: when federal and local authorities work together to enforce the law, families are safer and communities prosper.
