President-elect Donald Trump has made two new nominations that are set to play key roles in the enforcement of his planned "largest deportation operation in American history."
Concretely, he wants Rodney Scott to lead Customs and Border Protection and Caleb Vitello to be the next acting ICE director. Trump said Scott "served nearly three decades in the Border Patrol, building vast experience and knowledge in Law Enforcement in Border Security."
"Rodney served as the 24th Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, where he implemented Remain-in-Mexico, Title 42, Safe Third Agreements, and achieved record low levels of illegal immigration," Trump added in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, when making the announcement.
As for Vitello, Trump highlighted that he has "over 23 years of service to ICE" and that he "currently serves as Assistant Director of the Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs, where he oversees Agency-wide training, equipment, and policy to ensure Officer and Public Safety."
"Caleb's exceptional leadership, extensive experience, and commitment to ICE's mission make him an excellent choice to implement my efforts to enhance the safety and security of American communities who have been victimized by illegal alien crime," the president-elect added.
Both of them are likely to work closely with Tom Homan, appointed by Trump to be his "border czar." They will be among the most visible faces of an effort set to dominate the administration.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem will be part of the group should she be confirmed to lead the Department of Homeland Security. DHS oversees all immigration agencies, including CBP and ICE.
The incoming Trump administration has vowed to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, starting with those who have criminal records. Tom Homan, has told Fox News that the new administration will "concentrate on the public safety and the national security threats first" under a mass deportation plan.
"We know a record number of people on the terrorist watch list have crossed this border. We know a record number of terrorists have been released in this country," Homan said.
However, those who fit this criteria only make up a small fraction of the migrant population, a new analysis showed. Less than 0.5% of the 1.8 million cases in immigration courts during the past fiscal year— involving about 8,400 people— included deportation orders for alleged crimes other than entering the U.S. illegally, an Axios review of government data found.
The figures don't include more than 400,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions in the past few decades, many of whom are being held in federal, state or local facilities. About 29,000 of felons have been convicted of homicide or sexual assault. All of them would enter the deportation process in immigration— but not until after serving their sentences, Axios said.
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