President Donald Trump has axed two top officials from their positions at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as pressure mounts for the federal agency to meet his ambitious deportation targets.
Russell Hott and Peter Berg, two of most senior officials in ICE’s enforcement division, have been demoted and will be reassigned to the Washington field office and to St. Paul, Minnesota, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday evening, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.
The news comes after a Trump administration official told CNN last week that federal immigration authorities have made some 8,000 arrests since the president was sworn in for a second term on Jan. 20—a figure the White House isn’t satisfied with.
Trump pledged to deport “millions” of immigrants when he took office.
ICE is “treading water,” the Trump administration official told CNN. “They’re way behind.”
Between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31, ICE arrested more than 8,200 immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, according to data published by the federal agency on X.