Trump Admin Purges ICE Leaders in Five Cities, Installs Border Patrol Agents
The Trump administration has begun a sweeping leadership overhaul within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), removing field office directors in five major cities and replacing them with senior Border Patrol officials. The move marks one of the most significant shifts in how the federal government conducts interior immigration enforcement in recent years.
Sources within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that ICE field office directors in Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego were reassigned from their posts last Friday. The officials are being transferred within the agency rather than terminated outright, as DHS moves to restructure deportation operations nationwide.
Over the weekend, DHS began implementing internal changes aimed at increasing arrests and strengthening its immigration crackdown. These five offices are reportedly the first of several across ICE’s 24 national field locations expected to undergo similar restructuring.
“It’s a lot more,” one official stated, suggesting additional leadership changes are imminent. Multiple DHS and ICE sources confirmed the removals, noting that DHS leadership had initially planned to dismiss the officials entirely before acting ICE Director Todd Lyons intervened to move them to headquarters instead.
“The administration wanted all these guys fired and Todd stepped in and said, ‘Let’s move them all to headquarters,’” another official said. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will ultimately determine the final disposition of senior personnel within both ICE and Border Patrol, though the department declined to comment on her direct involvement.
The shake-up is said to have been influenced by Noem and DHS senior adviser Corey Lewandowski. The decision to replace senior ICE executives with Border Patrol supervisors is described by insiders as without precedent, signaling a fundamental change in operational priorities.
Among those reassigned were Denver Director Robert Guadian, San Diego Director Patrick Divver, Phoenix Director John Cantu, Los Angeles Director Ernesto Santacruz, and Philadelphia Acting Director Brian McShane. In Philadelphia, an official from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division will temporarily assume McShane’s duties.
The restructuring has not been publicly confirmed by DHS, ICE, or U.S. Customs and Border Protection.