Immigration and Customs Enforcement will promote Matthew Albence, deputy director of its deportation operations, to replace acting Director Mark Morgan after he moves to head Customs and Border Protection early next month.
Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan on Thursday confirmed Morgan’s departure for CBP, where he will replace acting Commissioner John Sanders, who was in the post less than three months.
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“Assuming the role of Acting Director of ICE is Matthew T. Albence, who has been performing the duties of the agency’s Deputy Director since August 2018. Mr. Albence brings years of experience, as he’s held a number of key positions within the ICE domain,” McAleenan said in a statement.
Albence has served as executive associate director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations arm. He has worked in law enforcement for 25 years.
He made headlines last year when he told a congressional hearing that family detention centers are “more like summer camp” than jail .
The appointment — rather than nomination — means neither Albence nor Morgan will have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Albence will be the fourth acting director of ICE since President Trump took office. The Trump administration selected Tom Homan as acting director in early 2017. Homan was nominated for the job in November 2017 but retired in June 2018 after the Senate did not move to confirm him.
After Homan retired, Trump picked Ronald Vitiello, then-acting deputy commissioner at CBP, to oversee ICE temporarily while he waited for Senate confirmation. After seven months of waiting, the Senate moved on his nomination and approved him in a March committee vote. The White House unexpectedly pulled Vitiello’s nomination in early April, leaving the agency’s 20,000 personnel without a leader.
Morgan, who garnered the president’s attention through his Fox News appearances earlier this year, was picked to take over. After less than two months on the job, he will now shift back to CBP, where he served as national Border Patrol chief for three months in late 2016 to early 2017 under President Barack Obama.
“I am confident he will bring the same commitment to the agency as it continues to navigate the current humanitarian and operational crisis,” McAleenan said.
