President Trump on Monday nominated Ronald D. Vitiello, a former head of the Border Patrol, to run ICE, the embattled agency responsible for deportations.
Mr. Vitiello is currently acting chief at ICE after a 30-year career on the border, where he was a line agent and later oversaw the start of Mr. Trump’s wall construction as deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
Confirming a new director for ICE is likely to be difficult given that climate. Indeed Mr. Vitiello’s predecessor as acting chief, Thomas D. Homan, languished for months without a hearing or vote.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen pleaded with the Senate to move speedily to confirm Mr. Vitiello.
“Deputy Director Vitiello’s leadership experience, combined with the unique perspective that comes from more than 30 years in law enforcement, makes him especially qualified to hold this important position,” she said.
At ICE he is leading an agency in the crosshairs of liberal activists, immigrant-rights advocates and a growing number of lawmakers who say the agency needs to be abolished. Mr. Trump has rejected those calls and offered his full support for ICE.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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