In particular, the acting head of ICE at the end of the Trump administration did not sign the new labor agreement that came together during a period of bureaucratic unrest. One acting director of ICE, Tony Pham, abruptly resigned at the end of December. He was succeeded by Jonathan Fahey, who abruptly resigned on 13 January.
Mr. Fahey was replaced by Tae D. Johnson, who did not sign the agreement. In place of the signature, Mr. Cuccinelli identified as ‘for the agency’, but without a title. Mr. Cuccinelli said it was appropriate that he should sign as acting deputy secretary, and he did so after gathering the guidance of the general council.
Before resigning, Mr. Fahey pushed back for days against efforts to strengthen the ICE union and eventually refused to sign the agreement, according to the senior Homeland Security official.
The Trump administration has tried in various ways to persuade Mr. Cuccinelli was given a senior leadership role in the Department of Homeland Security without going through Senate confirmation, but the legal legitimacy of his appointment to various posts was a recurring dispute.
In 2019, Mr. Trump is trying to kill Mr. Cuccinelli to make the acting head of the agency Citizenship and Immigration Services. But in March 2020, a federal judge ruled that his appointment was illegal, which invalidated the policy he pursued because he did not have the legal capacity to be in the position. The Trump administration did not appeal the ruling.
The administration also tried to persuade Mr. Cuccinelli die nr. 2 at the department and to give him the title of senior official performing the duties of deputy secretary. In August, the Government Office issued an opinion that this appointment is also legally invalid, although it is not a court ruling.
Mr. Cuccinelli has repeatedly put ICE leadership under pressure to adopt stricter policies. Shortly after joining Citizenship and Immigration Services, Mr. Cuccinelli urged the agency to add new restrictions to the student visa program, which is under ICE’s authority and not the agency he would lead at the time. His actions angered other departmental officials and intervened by Kevin K. McAleenan, a former acting secretary of homeland security.