US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's acting chief, Tae Johnson, is set to retire at the end of June, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday.
Johnson's departure from ICE, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, marks the second significant shake up among the Biden administration's immigration officials in recent days. Last week, US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told employees he would be leaving the agency.
"I am grateful to Tae Johnson for his service to ICE, the Department, and the nation. Mr. Johnson has been an integral member of ICE's leadership team through multiple administrations," Mayorkas said in a statement.
Most recently, Mayorkas continued, he "led ICE's successful planning and execution during the transition from the Title 42 public health Order to the enforcement of our nation's immigration laws."
Johnson led ICE in an acting capacity under the presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, after failed attempts to appoint a new director to the agency.
In June 2022, Biden's pick to lead the agency, Ed Gonzalez, withdrew from consideration after a Republican senator raised an alleged domestic complaint against Gonzalez.
A bipartisan inquiry into the allegations by staff with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found a series of discrepancies in the affidavit and individuals mentioned denied the events mentioned ever took place, according to the findings obtained by CNN.
