Trump's Homeland Security purge continues as acting ICE director leaves his post

Longtime border official is just the latest ousting at the federal agency

Donald Trump’s purge has continued at the Department of Homeland Security with yet another top official’s apparent removal being announced this week.

Ron Vitiello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would be leaving his post by Friday, a department spokesperson confirmed.

The longtime border official’s nomination to oversee the agency was withdrawn last week as the president and his administration sought to clamp down on an increase in undocumented immigration along the US-Mexico border.

Mr Vitiello served in law enforcement for over 30 years and was previously chief of US Border Patrol, as well as a deputy commissioner for US Customs and Border Protection.

His ousting arrived just days after it was reported Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen would also be stepping down from her post, as Mr Trump prepares a major overhaul of the department responsible for enforcing US immigration law.

"Despite our progress in reforming homeland security for a new age, I have determined that it is the right time for me to step aside," Ms Nielsen wrote in a statement.

She added, “I hope that the next Secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws that have impeded our ability to fully secure America's borders and have contributed to discord in our nation's discourse."

The purge among Homeland Security’s top echelons could be in part due to an even tougher change in course under Mr Trump, who has reportedly sought to reinstate his controversial — and likely illegal — zero tolerance policy, which began the systematic separation of migrant families along the nation’s southern border last year.

Ms Nielsen flatly denied the policy’s existence during high-profile hearings on Capitol Hill, where she was admonished for following the president’s directives and allowing thousands of children to be separated from their families — many of whom were legally seeking asylum.

ICE has released more migrant families back into the US than usual in recent months as family border crossings has reached new highs under Mr Trump.

The president has long derided this practice as “catch and release” while disapproving of the ability for migrants to remain in the country as their lengthy court processes take place.