Head of ICE, Jonathan Fahey, resigns abruptly after 13 days in position

by Anna Giaritelli, Homeland Security Reporter | | January 13, 2021 10:15 PM

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ice-head-jonathan-fahey-resigns-abruptly

The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jonathan Fahey, resigned Wednesday, after less than two weeks on the job, the Washington Examiner has learned.

Fahey, a former criminal prosecutor, resigned abruptly in what one person familiar with the situation said was due his being pressured to sign an agreement with ICE's union. Two other individuals confirmed the news, first reported by BuzzFeed News. He was the seventh person to lead ICE under the Trump administration.

"He said the agreement is going to destroy the agency, I'm not signing it," the source told the Washington Examiner.

Fahey, 48, was tapped Dec. 31 to take over for then-Senior Official Performing the Duties of ICE Director Tony Pham, who was promoted to the role in September.

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Fahey lives in northern Virginia and ran as an independent in 2019 for commonwealth's attorney in Fairfax County, but he lost to Democrat Steve Descano. As a candidate, he said his top priorities included combating gang violence, responding to the opioid crisis, and working closely with law enforcement.

Prior to his run for office, Fahey spent 17 years as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, where he focused on drug smugglers, human traffickers, and gang cases, according to an ICE biography.

When President Trump took office in January 2017, he terminated Daniel Ragsdale from his position atop ICE, and Tom Homan was nominated director. After a year and a half, Homan retired after going unconfirmed. Ron Vitiello, the second-in-command at fellow DHS agency Customs and Border Protection, was moved to ICE and nominated in June 2018 to run ICE. His nomination was pulled in April 2019, and ICE official Matthew Albence temporarily took over. Former Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan, whom Trump fired in 2017, was hired at ICE in May 2019 but only stayed six weeks until he was moved to head CBP, the agency that oversees Border Patrol.

In July 2019, Albence was promoted again to ICE director. The Washington Examiner first reported in August that he planned to step down in September and that Pham would be promoted in his place. Pham revealed in early December that he would leave at the end of the year.

Historically, officials overseeing an agency or department at the time a new presidential administration takes office are not asked to stay on in that role.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.