Madison Sheahan, a Trump ally and the second-ranking official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said on Thursday she was ditching her leadership position to run for Congress in Ohio.
The 28-year-old, who describes herself as a “Trump conservative”, announced her candidacy in a video in which she highlighted the agency’s expansion under her tenure.
“In just one year we’ve made history,” Sheahan said, citing the recruitment of 12,000 ICE officers and the deportation of 2.5 million people. “Ohio neighborhoods are safer thanks to President Trump and ICE.”
Sheahan was appointed to the deputy director position in March despite having no law enforcement experience. She was tapped during the initial major reorganization of ICE leadership, as the Trump administration pushed hard to accelerate heavy-handed immigration enforcement nationwide. Under her leadership, ICE had its deadliest year since 2004, with 32 people killed while in custody.
Her target is the Ohio district currently represented by Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat who narrowly secured her 22nd term in the 2024 election by less than one percentage point. The district is one of only 13 nationwide that Trump carried in 2024 that a Democrat also won, and the Cook Political Report now classifies it as a toss-up for Democrats – one of four seats across the country.
In her campaign video, Sheahan criticized Kaptur for opposing border wall funding and promised “real leadership” for residents she characterized as overburdened and overlooked.
ICE has been central to the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies, with thousands of agents deployed to major cities for enforcement operations that local officials have condemned as excessive. The agency has faced mass protests following last week’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer.
Trump responded on Thursday by threatening military intervention, suggesting he may invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota.
Before joining ICE under the Department of Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, Sheahan served as secretary of Louisiana’s department of wildlife and fisheries. She came up in her career under Noem during her governorship of South Dakota, at one point serving as her political director, and also as executive director of the South Dakota Republican party.
In a message to ICE staff posted on social media, Sheahan said serving at the agency had been “the honor of my life” and thanked Trump and Noem for their “steadfast commitment”.
“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.
