Ronald Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, has been appointed by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to succeed the retiring Tom Homan as acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Vitiello’s appointment took effect Saturday, June 30, and he will also serve as ICE’s deputy director, DHS said in a news release Saturday.
Vitiello is a three-decade law enforcement officer who started his career as a U.S. border patrol agent in 1985 in Laredo, Texas.
He took part in the development of the Laredo Sector Criminal Alien Program and helped manage the regional implementation of Operation Rio Grande in 1997.
Vitiello was instrumental in the establishment of CBP in 2003 and appointed deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol in 2010 and then named chief of the agency in 2017.
“I am pleased that ICE will continue to be led by an experienced and well-respected career law enforcement officer who will be a strong advocate for the agency’s workforce,†Nielsen, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, said in a statement.
