Madison Sheahan, the No. 2 official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and close ally of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is leaving the agency to run for Congress, two U.S. officials familiar with the move told CBS News on Thursday.
Sheahan was installed as ICE’s deputy director in March, when the Trump administration overhauled the agency’s leadership amid increased pressure for officials to ramp up immigration arrests and deportations across the country.
In a statement to CBS News, Noem confirmed Sheahan’s departure. She said Sheahan would be “a great defender of freedom when she goes to Congress,” noting she has known her for years.
“Madison Sheahan is a work horse, strong executor, and terrific leader who led the men and women of ICE to achieve the American people’s mandate to target, arrest, and deport criminal illegal aliens,” Noem added. “We wish her all the best.”
Jamie Kelter Davis / Getty Images
While Sheahan and Noem have a longstanding relationship, her installation as the second-highest ranking official at ICE frustrated some agency officials, who noted the 28-year-old lacked significant law enforcement experience.
Before coming to ICE, Sheahan was the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Before that, she was an aide for Noem during her governorship in South Dakota.
In a message to ICE employees posted on X shortly after this story was first published, Sheahan said she was proud of having “strengthened” ICE and “restored its purpose.”
“As I depart the agency, I want to say that it has been the honor of my life to serve my country with all of you,” Sheahan wrote in her message. “I want to thank President Trump and Secretary Noem for their leadership and for their steadfast commitment to our agency.”
As the agency in charge of deportations and immigration arrests in the interior of the country, ICE has been at the forefront of President Trump’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. The administration has deployed thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents to major American cities, where their actions have been denounced by local leaders and residents as harsh and heavy-handed.
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