US' Acting ICE Director Ron Vitiello to Resign on Friday - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Acting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Ron Vitiello will step down from his post by the end of the week, media reported on Wednesday.

An ICE spokesperson has confirmed that Vitiello will be leaving his post on Friday, NBC news reported.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said in a letter to the Senate that he was withdrawing his nomination for Vitiello to become the agency's permanent director. Trump did not disclose his reason for pulling the nomination.

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The US president was reportedly dissatisfied with outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen supporting the candidacy of Vitiello, who has led the agency since June. Nielsen herself resigned on Sunday reportedly due to being at odds with Trump regarding border security issues.

An increasing number of migrants have been reportedly arriving to the US border from Central America in recent months. Trump has called the surge of arrivals a "crisis" and in February declared a national emergency in order to secure funds to build a wall along the southern border.

An estimated 103,000 migrants were apprehended on the southern border for illegal entry into the United States for the month of March, according US Customs and Border Protection statistics released on Tuesday.

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Mexican Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero has said if the current migration flow remains unchanged, the number of migrants trying to get through Mexico to the United States will reach 900,000 people by the end of 2019.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told reporters that he expects the Department of Homeland Security to make another request for assistance on the US-Mexico border.