The Trump administration has reportedly removed several top officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — including the Phoenix Field Office Director John Cantu — as part of a nationwide leadership shakeup within the agency, according to multiple reports.
Newsweek reported that Cantu was reassigned Friday to another role within ICE, and his position in Phoenix will now be filled by a senior Border Patrol agent. Similar leadership changes have reportedly taken place in Denver, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
In several of those cities, Border Patrol agents are being brought in to lead ICE’s field offices, while in Philadelphia, a Homeland Security Investigations official will take charge.
According to the Washington Examiner, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had initially planned to terminate the five field directors but altered course following internal pushback from Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting director. The moves could be the start of a wider reorganization, with additional ICE field offices potentially affected.
A DHS spokesperson told KTAR News 92.3 FM that the department remains focused on executing the administration’s immigration priorities but did not confirm any specific personnel changes.
The shakeup comes as ICE prepares to expand enforcement operations nationwide, backed by new funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allocates $45 billion to increase detention capacity to 100,000 beds, and $8 billion to hire 10,000 additional deportation officers over the next five years.
DHS officials said the agency is also boosting cooperation with local law enforcement and technology upgrades, while running a recruitment drive that has already drawn more than 175,000 applications.
The administration says its stepped-up enforcement has resulted in 500,000 deportations and roughly 1.6 million voluntary departures since January, marking one of the most aggressive immigration operations in recent years.
