Two senior Ice officials reassigned over slow rate of deportations and arrests

Two senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials have been reassigned amid frustration that deportation and arrest numbers were not increasing fast enough to meet Donald Trump’s targets.

Russell Hott and Peter Berg, the two highest-ranking members of Ice’s enforcement agency, were removed from their positions, the Washington Post first reported, citing three people with knowledge on the moves. Hott was reassigned to Ice’s local office in Washington DC, and Berg to St Paul, Minnesota.

Todd Lyons, a senior executive from Ice’s Boston office, will now take over as the acting head of Ice’s enforcement and removal operations, the Post reported.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed the reassignments in a statement to the Post: “Ice needs a culture of accountability that it has been starved of for the past four years. We have a president, DHS secretary, and American people who rightfully demand results, and our Ice leadership will ensure the agency delivers.”

During his campaign, Trump promised to carry out “millions and millions” of deportations of undocumented immigrants. But arrests under Ice have slowed down in February compared with 800-1,200 arrests a day in late January, Reuters reported. Ice has also stopped posting daily arrest figures.

Trump was reportedly “angry” at deportation and arrest levels, NBC News reported last week.

“It’s driving him nuts they’re not deporting more people,” one person with knowledge on Trump’s thinking told NBC.

Trump’s “border czar”, Tom Homan, who previously led Ice, also said he was “not satisfied” with the number of Ice arrests, in comments to the press on Tuesday.

“Sanctuary cities are putting roadblocks up. We’ve got leaks. So we need to increase the arrests of illegal aliens, especially those with criminal convictions. So we’re going to continue,” he said.

Ice has also released detainees as some detention centers exceeded their maximum capacity, much to Trump officials’ ire.

To boost figures, Trump officials have issued new arrest quotas, with Ice expected to carry out at least 1,200 to 1,500 arrest a day and 75 arrests a day for Ice field offices, the Post reported. Experts have warned that such strategies will probably lead to the arrest of undocumented people without criminal records.