The Trump administration on Tuesday said that David Venturella, a former career Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who worked at a private prison company before rejoining the agency last year, would serve as ICE’s acting leader.
The decision to appoint Mr. Venturella comes as the Department of Homeland Security recovers from the intense scrutiny that followed its operations in Minneapolis and the shooting of two Americans by immigration agents. Todd Lyons, the acting head of ICE, announced his departure in April, and will leave the agency on May 31. Mr. Venturella will then take over, a D.H.S. spokeswoman said.
ICE has long operated with directors who serve only in an “acting” capacity, and has been without a Senate-confirmed director since an Obama-administration official retired in January 2017.
Mr. Venturella’s selection is in line with a push by Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, to keep D.H.S. under the radar and out of headlines. Mr. Venturella was known to prefer quieter operations than the volatile ones conducted by D.H.S. officials in major cities over the past year.
“My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” Mr. Mullin said during his confirmation hearing in March. “My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them and we’re working with them.”
Last year was tumultuous for ICE, which was pressured by Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, to ramp up arrests and deportations as it faced increasing opposition from leaders of Democratic-led cities and states. Its popularity has dropped, and President Trump has openly floated changing the name of the agency to NICE.
Mr. Venturella, who left during the Obama administration and worked for the private prison company the GEO Group, has allies inside the agency and the administration, including Mr. Miller, Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff and omnipresent immigration lead, according to a federal official.
His appointment will likely prompt criticism from those skeptical of the influence of private prison companies on ICE, which relies on them to detain undocumented immigrants.
In March, The New York Times reported that Mr. Venturella called ICE officials in Miami to make sure that officers there picked up the ex-wife of a Trump ally embroiled in a custody battle with the woman.
The Department of Homeland Security said at the time that the woman was arrested because of a criminal charge.
“Any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE,” the department said in a statement.
