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Ronald Vitiello testifies before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in November. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)
President Trump said Friday that he was looking for someone from "more difficult" to head the country's leading immigration monitoring agency, a few hours after the unexpected withdrawal of the White House from the United States. appointment of Ronald Vitiello as head of the US police.
He was asked why he had dropped Vitiello, the current acting director of ICE, who was supposed to Trump told reporters, "We are going in a slightly different direction. Ron is a good man. But we are going in a more difficult direction. We want to go in a more difficult direction. "
MPs, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and other senior administration officials said Friday that they did not understand why the president would withdraw his candidacy at the ICE at a time when US government officials say the country's immigration control system is at a breaking point. . "
[U.S. has hit ‘breaking point,’ top border official says in El Paso]
The sudden withdrawal – which was announced in the Senate on Thursday night – surprised Republicans who thought Vitiello was about to be confirmed soon. His appointment was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs last month and was on track for a vote in the Judiciary Committee – which also oversees the ICE position – the next week.
"Yes, I do not know what happened," said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, in a telephone interview on Friday. "I thought we had addressed the problems of our committee and received bipartisan support from our committee."
"I will gladly admit that it has completely surprised me," said Johnson, adding that committee members were trying to figure out what had happened so that the White House would withdraw its candidacy.
[Calexico, a small California city across from a Mexican metropolis, draws a visit from Trump amid border debate]
Senator Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.) Supported Vitiello in the committee vote, while Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) Was the only member of the GOP to be against him.
Tom Homan, the former presidential candidate for ICE leadership, languished without confirmation for months before retiring, frustrated. The White House chose Vitiello, a 30-year veteran of the Border Patrol, as a candidate in August.
With more than 20,000 employees and a $ 6 billion budget, ICE is the US agency for immigration detention and deportation. Its Homeland Security Investigation Unit fights against drug trafficking, human trafficking and other cross-border crimes, with agents deployed around the world.
Johnson refused to respond to Trump's information that Vitiello was not severe enough for the enforcement post, saying, "I thought he was a very dedicated public servant, certainly very competent and with great experience in His experience. . . . I thought he would have done a good job in his new job. "
Chris Crane, president of the pro-Trump union representing ICE agents, objected to Vitiello's bid. In February, Crane, chairman of the National Council of ICE, sent a letter to senators urging them to reject Vitiello, citing earlier publications in social media and other public commentary.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Vitiello compared Trump to cartoon character Dennis the Menace on Twitter and, in another post, compared the Democrats to the Ku Klux Klan. At his confirmation hearing, Vitiello apologized for these tweets and said that they were supposed to be jokes.
In recent months, as unauthorized border crossings have reached their highest level in more than a decade, Stephen Miller, immigration policy advisor, is criticizing President Vitiello and looking for an opportunity to clear him, according to a report. senior manager of the administration. works on issues related to the application of immigration.
On April 4, President Trump gave up his threat of immediately closing the southern border and warned Mexico of a "one year warning" before moving on to action. (The Washington Post)
Trump has conferred on Miller more authority than ever before in matters of border security and immigration, according to two senior administration officials who requested anonymity to discuss cracks in the country. Aggravated by the surprise decision taken against Vitiello.
"Ron Vitiello has spent as much time as Stephen Miller defending the borders of our country," said a 33-year-old Miller official.
A senior official said, "This is part of an increasingly desperate effort by Stephen to throw people under the bus when the policies that he advocated are not effective. Once it's clear that Stephen's policies are not working, he tells the president, "These are not the right people."
"Stephen wants to nominate Attila the Hun as director of ICE," said the manager, who thinks Miller is looking to install someone closer to him in the senior ICE position.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment or provided further explanations on what Trump meant by looking for someone more "difficult".
Vitiello faced tough questions from Democrats in previous social media posts, but was able to get support from Carper.
"They just had him leave the committee a few weeks ago, after a bitter lobbying campaign," said a senior administration official. "You have asked Thomas R. Carper, a Democratic senator, to vote very hard to confirm the position of ICE leader and support a qualified and capable person."
"We are now receiving e-mails from Senate staff members:" What's wrong with you? What are you doing? ", Said the manager." Ron's decency and rational nature have endangered his time at ICE in this administration. "
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