Kristi Noem’s administration is under fire as her deputy squanders millions on ICE vehicles that can’t even be used

An ICE deputy director under former DHS head Kristi Noem spent millions on vehicles the agency can’t use, according to the Washington Examiner.

Noem, as head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), appointed Madison Sheahan, 29, Noem’s former political director as governor of South Dakota, as deputy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director in March, 2025. Since then, Sheahan has resigned, announcing she’s running for a congressional seat in her home state of Ohio.

2,500 vehicles permanently parked

According to the Examiner, before Sheahan left her role at ICE, she ordered 2,500 pick-up trucks and SUVs emblazoned with the ICE logo, name, and motto. Long-standing protocol says ICE conducts their operations in unmarked vehicles.

For safety reasons, “ICE has never had marked vehicles,” a source told the Examiner. “In talking to people, they’re like, ‘We don’t want to use these, we can’t.’”

According to the Examiner’s Anna Giaritelli, the agency is “quietly searching” for ways to address the issue on the vehicles that have not so far been delivered, and to determine what to do about the trucks and SUVs that have arrived that agents refuse to use.

“If leadership would have been consulted — leadership being the executive assistant directors, do you need marked vehicles, the people that have done this job would have said, ‘We don’t need marked vehicles, because you’re not going to use them,’” a source told Giaritelli.

Internal estimates suggest the 2,500-vehicle order may exceed $100 million when accounting for the custom “upfitting” like cages, lights, and branding, that now may need to be stripped.

Similar to unmarked vehicles, the use of face masks by ICE agents during immigration raids and enforcement operations has become a major political and legal flashpoint across the United States.

As the AP reports, federal officials say officers sometimes wear masks to protect themselves and their families from harassment or “doxing,” noting that agents still carry badges and credentials and will identify themselves when legally required.

Civil-rights advocates, lawmakers and some former officials argue that masked, often plainclothes agents can undermine accountability and public trust.

Noem’s troubled tenure as head of ICE

Meanwhile, Sheahan’s alleged botched order came after a dramatic increase in ICE funding compared with previous years, largely driven by the 2025 budget reconciliation package known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

That legislation allocates roughly $170 billion in immigration enforcement and border security funding through 2029, including more than $100 billion specifically for ICE.

Sheahan’s former boss, Noem, was removed by Trump as DHS secretary in early March 2026. Trump tapped Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her, citing growing frustrations within the administration over her leadership and public controversies.

Noem’s tenure was marked by sharp criticism from both parties, particularly after she oversaw aggressive immigration enforcement actions and defended a controversial $220 million DHS advertising campaign that prominently featured her, which lawmakers and watchdogs blasted as wasteful and potentially improper. The firm used for the $220 million “self-deportation” ads was reportedly linked to Noem’s former spokesperson

During congressional hearings, she claimed that President Trump had approved the ads, but Trump publicly denied prior knowledge, creating an embarrassing split that reportedly contributed to his decision to reassign her.