Senior immigration officials within the Department of Homeland Security were sharply divided over how to execute U.S. President Donald Trump’s goal of deporting 1 million people within his first year back in office, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

The dispute became so heated during one meeting that staff intervened to clear the room in order to defuse tensions, two officials said.

At the center of the disagreement were Caleb Vitello, then the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Rodney Scott, who leads U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott and his team supported a sweeping enforcement strategy endorsed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The proposal called for establishing a centralized command structure that would integrate ICE, CBP, and the Defense Department to coordinate large-scale immigration raids in cities nationwide. The plan focused on individuals already under deportation orders, with agents instructed to enter last known residences without judicial warrants and expedite removals.

Supporters argued the approach would accelerate progress toward the administration’s aggressive deportation targets. But Vitello raised concerns about the accuracy of address data for hundreds of thousands of individuals and warned that warrantless operations risked mistakenly targeting U.S. citizens and violating civil liberties.

The internal rift foreshadowed broader public backlash as federal immigration operations expanded across major cities, sparking protests and criticism over enforcement tactics. The disagreement deepened over time, eventually contributing to wider tensions within DHS leadership, including fallout involving Noem and her senior advisers.