Ronald Vitiello, President Trump’s nominee to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has cleared his first hurdle to getting confirmed to lead the sub-agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved Vitiello in a business meeting Monday evening, seven months after Trump nominated the former senior Border Patrol official. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., was the only Democrat to vote in favor, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the sole Republican who did not support Vitiello.
DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen wrote in an internal memo last June that Vitiello, 55, would take over as director following Thomas Homan’s retirement that same month.
Trump had nominated Homan as director in November 2017, but the Senate did not move on him in the next seven months.
Vitiello served in his acting deputy commissioner role at U.S. Customs and Border Protection since April 2017, and he previously led U.S. Border Patrol as its chief operating officer for a year. He signed on as a Border Patrol officer 34 years ago and worked in Texas, Arizona, Washington, D.C., and Vermont.
In a hearing before the Senate committee last November, Vitiello said he hoped to better demonstrate to the public why the embattled federal law enforcement agency was critical to national security.
Following the implementation of the zero tolerance policy last April and the family separations that ensued, some criticized ICE for its role in the process even though the separations took place while in Border Patrol custody.
The committee chose not to vote on Vitiello in November because Republicans lacked the votes needed to get him through.
If confirmed, Vitiello will technically be taking a promotion to oversee ICE’s 20,000 personnel.
