A fierce disagreement between two of the nation's top immigration enforcement officials nearly derailed the Trump administration's mass deportation push before it even began, according to newly reported details of a heated February meeting at the Department of Homeland Security.
The clash centered on how to accomplish the president's goal of deporting 1 million people in his first year back in office. Caleb Vitello, then acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, locked horns with Rodney Scott, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, over a sweeping enforcement blueprint known internally as the "master plan."
Scott and his team had secured backing from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for an aggressive strategy. The proposal called for establishing a National Incident Command Center that would merge the powers of ICE and CBP with the Defense Department to coordinate mass enforcement surges across American cities. The operations would target immigrants with existing deportation orders, and federal agents would be empowered to enter homes using only administrative warrants, bypassing judicial oversight entirely. Those arrested would be fast-tracked for deportation without opportunity for appeal.
Vitello raised an alarm that proved prescient. The pool of 700,000 people with previous removal orders had not been properly verified in recent years, he argued. Without judicial warrants requiring law enforcement to present evidence to judges, he warned that American citizens could be wrongfully caught up in the enforcement sweeps. His concerns were direct and uncompromising.
During the February meeting, Scott grew visibly frustrated as Vitello refused to yield. Tensions escalated rapidly. Scott slammed his hands on the table in anger, but Vitello stood his ground. With the two leaders deadlocked, senior aides stepped in, cleared the room, and abruptly ended the gathering.
The confrontation had consequences. Word of the conflict reached Noem within days. Shortly after, Vitello was reassigned to oversee training for newly hired ICE officers, effectively removing him from operational authority. Todd Lyons, who would later announce his departure from the agency, took over as acting ICE director.
Though the National Incident Command Center never became permanent policy, key elements of Scott's plan survived and were implemented. In May, Lyons authorized ICE officers to detain people in their homes based solely on administrative warrants issued by field offices rather than judges, so long as those individuals had prior removal orders. The policy raised immediate civil liberties concerns.
By June, enforcement operations surged in Los Angeles and spread to other cities, with Border Patrol and ICE agents putting the deportation strategy into action. The aggressive tactics sparked protests and complaints from local elected officials who said the operations had gone too far.
The enforcement campaign faced a turning point after two American citizens were fatally shot during immigration operations in Minneapolis. Public support for the aggressive tactics began to erode, and the president himself signaled a shift. "I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough," Trump told NBC News.
The deportation numbers tell part of the story. Since Trump returned to office, 570,000 people have been deported, leaving the administration substantially short of its 1 million annual target. In March, Noem was ousted from her position and replaced by Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who has moved to soften the agency's public image. Mullin has paused the policy allowing warrantless home entries and halted plans to purchase warehouses for mass detention facilities.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Vitello's early warnings about unverified addresses proved justified when reality met ambition, and the entire program has since been forced to pump the brakes."
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