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Former secretary of DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Kirstjen Nielsen praised the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Ronald Vitiello. The new acting director announced that he would be following the Department of Homeland Security chief out the ever-revolving White House door. Nielsen said in a statement released by the DHS, “For over three decades, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Ronald Vitiello has protected our homeland with courage and conviction. Ron’s knowledge and expertise as a seasoned law enforcement professionals have been invaluable to DHS, and he has left a legacy of excellence as our Department has expanded and refined our efforts to curb illegal immigration and secure our borders”.

Vitiello took the reins at ICE when immigration hardliner Thomas Homan stepped down as the agency’s chief last year. He announced the decision shortly after the White House abruptly pulled his nomination to lead ICE permanently. Trump said his administration would be moving in a tougher direction. He informed reporters at the White House, “Ron’s a good man but we’re going in a tougher direction. We want to go in a tougher direction”. The career of Vitiello in border security started in 1985 when he joined the U.S Border Patrol. Vitiello served in a number of leadership roles at the U.S Customs and Border Protection agency before assuming his position at ICE.

Nielsen announced Vitiello’s appointment as ICE director. She also said in a statement that Vitiello would bring to ICE the vision and leadership needed to continue the exceptional work the agency is doing to accomplish its crucial national security and public safety missions. Vitiello continued his predecessor’s mission of overseeing a widespread crackdown on immigration as ICE chief with the agency conducting raids, including its largest worksite raid in a decade earlier this year across the country. Still, Vitiello’s public persona was notably more subdued than Homan’s, with the ICE acting chief lacking his predecessor’s outward enthusiasm for enforcing the Trump administration’s more hard-line immigration policies.