The Trump administration has begun purging Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership in five major cities and replacing them with senior Border Patrol agents, a move that insiders say marks a sweeping shift in the way the government will carry out interior immigration enforcement.
ICE field office directors in Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego were removed from their posts last Friday and reassigned within the agency, multiple sources said to the Washington Examiner.
Over the weekend, the Department of Homeland Security began quietly overhauling its deportation operations in what officials describe as an effort to boost arrests and expand the administration’s high-profile immigration crackdown.
The five offices are said to be the first of several that will undergo restructuring across ICE’s 24 field locations nationwide.
“It’s a lot more,” one official with firsthand knowledge of the plan said, indicating that additional ICE offices are expected to see leadership changes.
Five officials confirmed that the field office directors were relieved of their duties and reassigned elsewhere. DHS initially sought to fire all five but reversed course after acting ICE Director Todd Lyons intervened, urging that they be moved 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. Lyons did not respond to requests for comment.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will ultimately decide all senior personnel matters within ICE and Border Patrol, though the department declined to comment on her involvement in the shake-up.
One source said the initiative was pushed by Noem and DHS senior adviser Corey Lewandowski, adding that “Tom [Homan] would have said, ‘No way.’”
The decision to replace top ICE officials with Border Patrol supervisors is unprecedented.
Among those reportedly reassigned were Denver Field Office Director Robert Guadian, San Diego Director Patrick Divver, Phoenix Director John Cantu, Los Angeles Director Ernesto Santacruz, and Philadelphia’s acting Director Brian McShane. None responded to requests for comment.
In Philadelphia, an ICE Homeland Security Investigations official — not a Border Patrol leader — will assume McShane’s duties. DHS, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection have not publicly confirmed any of the personnel moves.
Gregory Bovino, who oversees the Border Patrol’s El Centro, California, sector, has been assisting with ICE operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland since summer and has become a visible figure in the administration’s crackdown.
Known for his aggressive tactics, Bovino has led Border Patrol agents through major U.S. cities and confronted protesters face-to-face.
One official now views Bovino not as an exception, but as the new standard for managing ICE operations.
The personnel changes come as the Trump administration pushes to reach 600,000 deportations by January 2026.
In May, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller called on ICE to conduct 3,000 arrests per day — roughly 1 million per year — during a tense meeting with agency leaders.
DHS has increasingly used Border Patrol resources for interior enforcement, though it remains unclear what legal jurisdiction agents have beyond the 100-mile zone from the border.
Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks told the Examiner earlier this month that agents were already assisting ICE in 27 cities across the country.
“While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump administration remains laser focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Monday.