Rodney Scott, former chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, is President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead Customs and Border Protection, the agency entrusted with managing ports of entry and stopping irregular immigration at U.S. borders.
Trump made the announcement Thursday night in a statement.
Scott served under both Trump and President Biden during his 19-month tenure as chief of Border Patrol, the statement said. He implemented key border enforcement policies such as the Migrant Protection Protocols, best known as Remain in Mexico, and Title 42.
CBP is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country with more than 60,000 employees. The agency also manages the U.S. Border Patrol and is responsible for inspecting more than 300 points of entry at airports, seaports and land borders, where millions of people cross legally every year.
Customs and Border Protection officers often are the first to encounter immigrants who petition asylum when they arrive in U.S. territory.
Trump also chose Caleb Vitello to serve as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE.
Vitello is currently the assistant director of the Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs. In a statement, Trump said Vitello has worked for ICE for over 23 years, and served as chief of staff for Enforcement and Removal Operations.
"Caleb's exceptional leadership, extensive experience, and commitment to ICE's mission make him an excellent choice to implement my efforts to enhance the safety and security of American communities who have been victimized by illegal alien crime," Trump said in a statement.
ICE, with more than 20,000 employees, is the agency in charge of immigration enforcement, including fighting human smuggling and removals.
This agency is also the one that manages detention facilities and establishes collaborations with local governments. ICE was created in 2003 after the merger of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the U.S. Customs Service.
Officers from ICE will likely carry out Trump's promises of deporting millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Both Scott and Vitello will work closely with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who last month was nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security. DHS oversees all immigration agencies, including CBP, ICE, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Vitello, Scott and Noem will also work alongside Stephen Miller, who was named deputy chief of staff for policy and Tom Homan, tapped to be the "border czar."
Miller and Homan played a key role in designing and implementing immigration policies during Trump's first term in office, Including the highly controversial "zero tolerance" policy that led to children being separated from their parents.
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