OAN Staff James Meyers
11:42 AM – Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Two senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have reportedly been demoted after falling short of carrying out President Donald Trump’s migrant deportation orders — sending a message to other immigration officials who are contemplating defying the Trump administration.
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The officials, Russell Hott and Peter Berg, were just cut from ICE’s enforcement division amid higher pressure from the Trump administration to increase the number of illegal alien arrests and deportations, according to the Washington Post.
“ICE needs a culture of accountability that it has been starved of for the past four years,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement in the wake of the demotions.
“We have a president, DHS secretary, and American people who rightfully demand results, and our ICE leadership will ensure the agency delivers.”
Berg And Hott, who held top positions in the Enforcement and Removal Operations division up until now, were told to return to local field offices in Washington and Minnesota — according to multiple sources.
With the two being demoted, Todd Lyons, the leading official at ICE’s Boston office, is now in line to take over the division, sources added.
Last December, Lyons called for the ICE office at the Rikers Island jail complex to reopen in order to detain migrant criminals.
“Re-establishing the [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] unit at Rikers would allow [Enforcement and Removal Operations] NYC officers to take direct custody of foreign-born criminal offenders without the need to re-apprehend these criminals at large in the community,” argued Lyons, who was the assistant director of field operations.
The latest demotions come as remaining immigration officers continue to exert their energy in meeting Trump’s goal of deporting the millions of criminal migrants who illegally crossed the border under the Biden administration—taking advantage of Biden and Harris’ loose “catch and release” policies.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, recently expressed that he’s not yet satisfied with the current pace of raids, arrests and deportations—even though immigration efforts are unfolding at a much faster pace than in the last administration.
“If you look at the rest of interior enforcement, it’s about three times higher than it was a year ago today. Three times higher is good, but I’m not satisfied,” Homan told NewsNation, citing figures that ICE has tripled the number of migrant arrests.
“There are more criminal aliens that need to be arrested, hundreds of thousands.”
“Sanctuary cities are putting roadblocks up. We’ve got leaks. So we need to increase the arrests of illegal aliens, especially those with criminal convictions. So we’re going to continue,” he added.
According to ICE, those arrested included illegal foreigners accused of rape, firearm and drug offenses, and those guilty of sex crimes against minors.
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