Trump Fires Acting ICE Director Daniel Ragsdale

 

Shortly following the Trump administration's announcement that they had fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates for refusing to protect President Donald Trump's immigration ban, it appears the White House has now quietly replaced acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Daniel Ragsdale, as well.

In a statement released Monday, Department of Homeland Security secretary John Kelly announced that Ragsdale had been replaced with Thomas Horman as acting ICE Director, all without mentioning Ragsdale's name once. While it is not clear what caused the sudden swap, many speculated it was connected to Yates's dismissal and representative of the administration's attempts to appoint people who will best comply with Trump's ban.

"I am confident that [Horman] will continue to serve as a strong, effective leader for the men and women of ICE," Kelly wrote. "I look forward to working alongside him to ensure that we enforce our immigration laws in the interior of the United States consistent with the national interest."
As the Huffington Post points out, the announcement also comes after "a chaotic weekend during which DHS customs officials struggled to interpret and comply with Trump’s controversial executive order barring travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries."

In a separate statement, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Ragsdale will now be returning to his former job as deputy director.