By Michelle Hackman and Jack Morphet
WASHINGTON -- Madison Sheahan, the No. 2 official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and close ally of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is resigning to run for Congress in Ohio.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed her departure in a statement. Sheahan, who ran much of the day-to-day operations inside ICE, was the agency's main point of contact with Noem and was behind many of the agency's splashier operations and ad campaigns.
Noem called Sheahan a "work horse" whose leadership would translate to elected office.
"I've known her for years, she loves her family, Ohio and her country. She will be a great defender of freedom when she goes to Congress," Noem said.
Sheahan, 28 years old, ruffled feathers inside the agency when she was first installed. As the former Louisiana Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and a campaign hand to then-Gov. Noem in South Dakota, Sheahan came to ICE with no previous law enforcement experience. Even so, she directed many of the agency's operations and issued orders directly to ICE officers, often cutting out the agency's acting director, Todd Lyons.
Sheahan oversaw ICE's day-to-day operations, according to the agency, including more than 6,800 criminal investigators and 6,000 enforcement officers.
She had disappeared from the office in the last week, skipping internal calls concerning the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good last week in Minneapolis and the broader enforcement operation there. Lyons only learned of her departure on Thursday morning, shortly before it became public, according to people familiar with the matter.
Write to Michelle Hackman at michelle.hackman@wsj.com and Jack Morphet at jack.morphet@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 15, 2026 13:07 ET (18:07 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments