Trump announces key immigration enforcement nominees

Pres.-elect Donald Trump announced three significant appointments on his Truth Social account last night. All three will be tasked with helping to execute the President's plan of robust immigration enforcement.

Trump announced that he's nominating Rodney Scott to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott has worked for the Border Patrol for nearly three decades and led the Border Patrol during Trump's first term in office, overseeing implementation of the Title 42 and Remain in Mexico policies. Prior to leading Border Patrol, he was the Chief Patrol Agent for the El Centro and San Diego Sectors.

Trump also announced that Caleb Vitello will serve as the Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Vitello currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs. Before that, he served as Chief of Staff for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Finally, Trump announced the nomination of Tony Salisbury to serve as White House Deputy Homeland Security Advisor. Salisbury currently serves as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Miami.

Trump has yet to announce his pick to lead U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS is repsonsible for processing immigration applications.

Immigration News

Trump tariff threat puts a strain on Canada-Mexico ties
Just last week, President-elect Trump vowed to impose a 25% tariff on products from Mexico and Canada until the two countries stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal aliens into the United States. Mexico and Canada's leaders have had conversations with the incoming president, and this article from the BBC covers some of the fallout since the announcement.

NYC is now home to over 58K ‘criminal’ migrants — including more than 1,000 gang members: ICE
For the last four years, you've undoubtedly seen countless reports on illegal aliens crossing the border and making their way to New York City. In this shocking report, the New York Post details data they obtained which shows 759,218 illegal border-crossers were living in the city as of mid-November, with 58,636 of those illegal aliens having previous criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. Nationwide, that number jumps to 662,586 criminal aliens.

NYC Mayor Says He’ll Work with Trump to Deport Illegal Immigrant Criminals: ‘Cancel Me’
Speaking of the Big Apple, embattled Mayor Eric Adams has bucked the trend of Democratic leaders who have promised to block immigration enforcement. This week, he committed to working with the incoming administration to get criminal aliens out of New York City. "[I]f you come into this country, in this city, and think you’re going to harm innocent New Yorkers and innocent migrants and asylum seekers, this is not the mayor you want to be in the city under."

Illegal Migrants Less Likely to Commit Crime? Guess Again.
Last week, RealClear Investigations published the above article, which refutes one of the common claims from open-border advocates that illegal aliens commit fewer crimes than American citizens. For a deep dive on this issue, see this report from our friends at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Republicans slam Biden migrant parole program: ‘Rife with fraud’
This Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing with Ur Jaddou, the Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In a stunning display, Jaddou appeared completely unprepared to answer for many of the abuses that occurred under her tenure.

DHS Publishes Federal Register Notice Designating Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status
The amnesties continue to roll in. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security designated Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), effectively amnestying another 11,000 individuals and bringing the total of TPS-designated countries to 17.

Next Week

Congress is expected to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act. It could also begin work on passing a continuing resolution to fund the federal government before existing funding expires on Dec. 20th. Watch our X (Twitter) account for updates.