In a move that has sent shockwaves through immigration enforcement circles and sparked a fierce debate in Washington, the Trump administration has launched a sweeping purge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership across the country. Over the weekend preceding October 28, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly relieved ICE field office directors in five major U.S. cities—Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego—of their duties, according to reporting by Common Dreams and other outlets. The shakeup, already being dubbed a "midnight massacre," is just the beginning of a broader overhaul that could see up to half of the agency’s 24 regional directors replaced with officials from the U.S. Border Patrol.
The move comes as part of an effort to ramp up the administration’s already aggressive mass deportation campaign. Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin reported that additional ICE directors in El Paso, Seattle, Portland, and New Orleans are also expected to be replaced in the coming days. The replacements are expected to come from the ranks of the Border Patrol, an agency known for its uncompromising and sometimes controversial enforcement tactics—often targeting immigrants regardless of whether they have criminal records.
At the center of this transformation is Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander currently leading President Donald Trump’s "Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago. Bovino, who has faced widespread criticism for his hardline approach, is expected to personally handpick many of the new ICE leaders. According to Common Dreams, Bovino’s leadership has been marked by high-profile, aggressive raids, including an overnight operation earlier this month in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. In that raid, federal agents rappelled from Black Hawk helicopters, broke down doors, smashed belongings, and detained dozens of residents—including children—in U-Haul vans for hours.
"Border Patrol and ICE are different agencies, with different duties and different leadership and different styles," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told Common Dreams. "Border Patrol are the aggro cowboys compared to ICE. Now they’re going to be the ones running the show." His warning was blunt: "Think things are bad now? It’ll get worse."
The leadership purge comes amid deep divisions within the Trump administration over the direction and intensity of its immigration enforcement efforts. While the White House has repeatedly claimed to be targeting the "worst of the worst"—criminals with violent records—most evidence suggests that the majority of those being detained have no criminal history at all. Data from late September 2025 shows that nearly 72% of current ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detainees have not been convicted of any crime. Earlier research by the libertarian Cato Institute found that even those with criminal records were mostly charged with minor offenses rather than violent crimes.
According to Common Dreams, the current shakeup is partly a response to pressure from senior Trump advisor Stephen Miller, who has berated ICE leaders for not executing deportations quickly enough. In May 2025, Miller reportedly set a quota of 3,000 arrests per day. However, as of late September, ICE was averaging just 1,178 arrests per day—a far cry from the administration’s ambitious targets. This shortfall has fueled frustration among hardliners within the administration, including Border Czar Tom Homan and ICE Director Todd Lyons, who prefer to prioritize targeting criminal aliens, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, chief DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski, and Bovino, who advocate for more aggressive tactics and mass arrests.
"There is significant friction within different wings of DHS and the administration," Melugin reported, "with Border Czar Tom Homan and ICE Director Todd Lyons preferring to prioritize targeting criminal aliens and the ‘worst of the worst’ or those with deportation orders, while DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, [chief DHS adviser] Corey Lewandowski, and [Border Patrol] commander Bovino prefer to use aggressive tactics to arrest anyone in the US illegally, including but not limited to criminals, to ramp up deportation numbers and achieve President Trump’s promises of mass deportations."
The increased role of the Border Patrol signals a shift toward even more sweeping and indiscriminate operations. Under Trump’s "second term" approach, Border Patrol agents have been at the forefront of controversial enforcement actions, including roving patrols in cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. These operations have often targeted locations such as Home Depot, car washes, and flea markets, sometimes resulting in federal judges issuing injunctions to curb what they see as overly aggressive tactics.
Adding to the controversy, Gregory Bovino is expected to testify before a federal judge on October 28, 2025, regarding his use of tear gas against peaceful protesters in a Chicago neighborhood. However, he has signaled that he may refuse to appear in court, stating, "I take my orders from the executive branch." This defiant stance has raised concerns among civil rights advocates and legal experts, who warn that unchecked executive power over immigration enforcement could further erode oversight and accountability.
According to NBC News, the list of ICE officials to be removed was personally compiled by Bovino and Lewandowski, though Miller is closely guarding the final roster within the White House. While the names of those targeted for firing or reassignment have not been officially released, it is widely anticipated that officials with low arrest numbers and those who have opposed the harsher tactics favored by Miller and Border Patrol leaders will be among those ousted.
The changes come against the backdrop of a historic government shutdown, now entering its 28th day as of October 28, 2025. The country’s largest federal employee union has called on Democrats to pass the Republican spending deal to end the impasse, but political divisions remain deep. The shutdown has only heightened the sense of urgency and chaos surrounding the administration’s immigration agenda, with critics arguing that the leadership purge is an attempt to distract from broader governance failures.
While some supporters of the administration argue that tougher enforcement is necessary to uphold the rule of law and deter illegal immigration, others warn that the new approach will only lead to more chaos, fear, and suffering for immigrant communities. The replacement of experienced ICE leaders with Border Patrol officials known for their aggressive tactics marks a decisive shift away from targeted enforcement toward mass arrests, with potentially far-reaching consequences for families and neighborhoods across the country.
As the Trump administration doubles down on its hardline immigration policies and the government shutdown drags on, the fate of thousands of immigrants—and the future of federal law enforcement leadership—hangs in the balance. The coming weeks are certain to be contentious, with legal battles, political maneuvering, and public protests all but guaranteed as the nation grapples with the implications of this sweeping overhaul.
The landscape of immigration enforcement in the United States is changing rapidly, and with it, the lives of countless individuals and families. Whether these changes will bring greater security or further turmoil remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the debate over America’s immigration future is far from over.
