Kristi Noem reveals new ICE deputy director after Madison Sheahan quits

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has named a new ICE deputy director after the previous incumbent, Madison Sheahan, announced she was stepping down to run for Congress.

Charles Wall, formerly the agency’s principal legal adviser, will step in as Sheahan’s successor.

“Mr Wall has served as an ICE attorney for 14 years and is a forward leaning, strategic thinker who understands the importance of prioritizing the removal of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from our country,” Noem said in a statement.

“I look forward to working with him in his new role to make America safe again.”

Wall has worked with the agency since 2012, when he was assistant chief counsel to the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in New Orleans.

open image in gallery

In his most recent role, he was responsible for 3,500 attorneys and support personnel “who represent DHS in removal proceedings and provide accurate, timely, and complete legal advice and counsel to the agency’s senior officials and workforce,” the statement said.

Wall will serve as second-in-command to ICE acting director Todd Lyons.

Sheahan, who joined ICE last March, is leaving to mount a challenge for Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s seat in the state’s 9th congressional district.

“I am proud of the work we have done to protect American families and I am grateful for the brave men and women serving at ICE,” she wrote on X (Twitter) Thursday as she announced her decision.

One DHS insider appeared not to fancy her chances in the race, telling The Daily Beast: “If she’s gonna shake a lot of hands, she needs to learn not to crush them.”

open image in gallery

The shakeup comes amid ever-growing pressure on the federal immigration force over events in Minneapolis, where its agents’ aggressive crackdown on undocumented migrants resulted in the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother-of-three, on January 7, a tragedy caught on video and widely scrutinized on social media.

Her death at the hands of ICE agent Jonathan Ross has led to widespread protests in the Minnesota city and across the U.S.

Another man was shot in the leg in Minneapolis Wednesday evening amid further clashes with demonstrators, who had to be disbursed with flashbang grenades and teargas.

City mayor Jacob Frey has called the tensions “unsustainable” and has urged ICE to withdraw while Gov. Tim Walz has accused its forces of “organized brutality” against U.S. citizens.

New polling by CNN/SSRS has found that more than of half of Americans now believe that ICE’s activities are making their cities less safe, not more so.