Inside the heated clash over DHS ‘master plan’ for deportations

EXCLUSIVEImmigrationImmigrationInside the heated clash over the DHS 'master plan' for deportationsA new book, “Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program," details a tense fight over how to carry out Trump’s immigration agenda Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00The Department of Homeland Security seal in Nogales, Ariz.Rebecca Noble / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 5, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Julia AinsleyWASHINGTON — Homeland Security immigration leaders disagreed so vehemently over how to accomplish President Donald Trump’s goal of deporting 1 million people during his first year back in office that during a meeting over the issue, handlers had to “clear the room” to defuse tensions, two DHS officials familiar with the meeting told NBC News. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.At the center of the disagreement were Caleb Vitello, then the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. Scott and his top aides were pushing a plan that had been blessed by newly installed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The “master plan” as they called it, called for creating a National Incident Command Center that would combine the powers of ICE and CBP, along with the Defense Department, to coordinate surging immigration enforcement operations in cities across the U.S. The details come in my new book out Tuesday, "Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program."The operations would target immigrants who were already under orders to leave the country, and federal agents would be instructed to enter their last known addresses without judicial warrants. Those captured would be fast-tracked for deportation without appeal, the DHS officials said. At the time, Homeland Security was far behind pace to reach 1 million in a year, and proponen...