Ronald Donato Vitiello (born July 30, 1963) is an American government official and former U.S. Border patrol agent who served as deputy director and acting director of the

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

from June 30, 2018 to April 12, 2019. He previously served as acting deputy commissioner of the

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

from 2017 to 2018 and chief of the United States Border Patrol in 2017.

Career

Vitiello joined the U.S. Border Patrol in 1985 and began service in

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of th ...

. He has held various leadership positions within the Border Patrol, including supervisory Border patrol agent; assistant patrol agent in charge; special operations Supervisor; chief patrol agent for the Rio Grande Valley, and for the Swanton, Vermont sectors; assistant chief patrol agent; and Senior Associate chief.

Chief of the Border Patrol

In 2010, Vitiello was appointed deputy chief of the Border Patrol, and in 2015-16 he served as acting chief, after which Mark A. Morgan was appointed chief. Vitiello then served as executive assistant commissioner for operations support at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol's parent agency. Vitiello was appointed chief of the Border Patrol by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in January 2017 and assumed the position on February 1, 2017, replacing Mark A. Morgan. The National Border Patrol Council, the union which represents Border patrol agents, openly supported Vitiello for the position.

Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

After U.S. Customs and Border Protection deputy commissioner Randolph Alles resigned to become the

director of the United States Secret Service The director of the United States Secret Service is the head of the United States Secret Service, and responsible for the day-to-day operations. The Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department ...

, Vitiello was appointed to take his place on April 25, 2017.

Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

In early June 2018, Vitiello was named acting director of

(ICE) by Secretary of

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...

Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele Nielsen (; born May 14, 1972) is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former principal White House deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump, and was ...

. Under Vitiello's leadership, ICE continued implementing a policy of "zero tolerance," which critics charge has had the result of separating families at the border and increasing deportations. In August 2018, Trump nominated Vitiello to become ICE's permanent director. During a 2018 Senate confirmation hearing, Senator

Gary Peters Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representa ...

brought up a 2015 tweet from Vitiello, where he suggested to

Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, Liberty & Levin'' on Fox News. Levin worked in the admin ...

that the Democratic Party be renamed the "liberalcratic party or the NeoKlanist party". Vitiello said it was intended as a direct message, was a joke, and was sorry it caused offense;

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

echoed Peters' reply, grilling him on why that was a poor comparison. When Vitiello said the KKK "tried to use fear and force" against "race and ethnicity", Harris asked if Vitiello saw parallels between ICE and the KKK, especially with ICE's enforcement of the

Trump administration family separation policy The United States family separation policy under the Trump administration was presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation. In some cases, families followi ...

. This led to a strong reaction from

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

's Trish Regan and a strong letter to Harris from the

Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association is a non-union club and lobbying organization for federal law enforcement, including the Secret Service, DHS's Air Marshals and TSA's Transportation Security Officers. History and stances In 1986, F ...

. On April 4, 2019, Trump rescinded Vitiello's nomination as director of ICE, stating to reporters the next day at the White House before leaving on a trip to border that, "Ron’s a good man, but we’re going in a tougher direction." On April 10, 2019, Vitiello announced his resignation from ICE.

Personal life and education

Vitiello graduated from

Santana High School Santana High School, located in Santee, California, is part of the Grossmont Union High School District. History 2001 Shooting On March 5, 2001, at Santana High School, 15-year-old Charles Andrew Williams shot and killed two students and injure ...

in 1981. He is married to Nuri and has two children.

References

External links

CBP profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitiello, Ronald 1963 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Grossmont College alumni United States Border Patrol agents U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials People from Chicago Trump administration personnel Obama administration personnel