--- title: Acting ICE Head Quits as Trump Calls for 'Tougher' Nominee description: The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quit Wednesday, the latest departure among top immigration officials. canonical: https://time.com/5568048/immigration-chief-quits-ice-ronald-vitiello/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-10T22:20:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:51.436Z article:section: Politics og:title: Acting ICE Head Quits as Trump Calls for 'Tougher' Nominee in Continuing Homeland Security Shakeup og:description: Ronald Vitiello served for more than 30 years with Customs and Border protection before joining ICE og:url: https://time.com/5568048/immigration-chief-quits-ice-ronald-vitiello/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae28e82d34c9855c/6989480b656a3f8d82bd6ebc/gettyimages-1092001884.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: us-politics-trump-trafficking og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Acting ICE Head Quits as Trump Calls for 'Tougher' Nominee in Continuing Homeland Security Shakeup twitter:description: Ronald Vitiello served for more than 30 years with Customs and Border protection before joining ICE twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae28e82d34c9855c/6989480b656a3f8d82bd6ebc/gettyimages-1092001884.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Acting ICE Head Quits as Trump Calls for 'Tougher' Nominee in Continuing Homeland Security Shakeup ## Video: Kirstjen Nielsen Resigns as Department of Homeland Security Secretary [Watch (HLS stream): Kirstjen Nielsen Resigns as Department of Homeland Security Secretary](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7HSjKHMc.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2019-04-07. President Donald Trump says Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is leaving her job amid growing frustration by the administration over the number of southern border crossings._ by [Justin Blum / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Justin Blum / Bloomberg Contributor Apr 10, 2019 10:20 PM UTC  Ronald Vitiello, Acting Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), listens as US President Donald Trump meets to discuss fighting human trafficking on the southern border Washington, DC, on February 1, 2019. Ronald Vitiello, Acting Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), listens as US President Donald Trump meets to discuss fighting human trafficking on the southern border Washington, DC, on February 1, 2019.JIM WATSON—AFP/Getty Images by [Justin Blum / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Justin Blum / Bloomberg Contributor Apr 10, 2019 10:20 PM UTC The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quit Wednesday, the latest departure among top immigration officials as President Donald Trump calls for tougher border control. The announcement came after Trump told reporters last week that he was pulling his nomination of acting ICE chief Ronald Vitiello for the director’s job, saying he wanted to go in a “different direction” with someone “tougher.” Vitiello, who served for more than 30 years with Customs and Border protection before joining ICE, “has protected our homeland with courage and conviction,” said outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in a statement. The departure comes after Trump forced out Nielsen on Sunday and the acting deputy secretary of DHS resigned on Tuesday. Trump is increasingly frustrated by a spike in illegal border crossings, and last month empowered a hard-line aide, Stephen Miller, to have greater authority over immigration policy within the White House. More than 66,000 people were apprehended after crossing the border illegally in February, about a 38 percent increase from the month before. 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