ICE Deputy Madison Sheahan to Leave Post and Run Against Marcy Kaptur in Ohio

Madison D. Sheahan, the 28-year-old deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, announced on Thursday that she will leave the agency to enter the Republican primary to challenge Representative Marcy Kaptur in northwest Ohio. In an announcement video, Ms. Sheahan called herself “a Trump conservative” and highlighted her role in carrying out the administration’s deportation agenda, saying, “In less than one year at ICE, I’ve stopped more illegal immigration than Marcy Kaptur has in her 43 years in Washington.” Ms.

Kaptur, 79, was first elected in 1982 and represents the Toledo area; her district was redrawn into a competitive seat and she narrowly won re-election in 2024. Other Republicans in the primary include Derek Merrin and Josh Williams. Ms. Sheahan previously worked as a political aide to Governor Kristi Noem and as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Ms.

Noem praised her in a statement to Fox News. Democrats said they were confident Ms. Kaptur would prevail, and Kaptur’s campaign manager criticized what he called a “culture of lawlessness” but did not directly address Ms. Sheahan’s enforcement credentials. Her departure comes as the administration pursues a high-profile immigration enforcement effort in Minnesota that ICE has called its “largest operation to date,” deploying roughly 3,000 federal agents to the Minneapolis region and prompting clashes and calls from local officials for officers to leave.

Key Topics

Politics, Madison Sheahan, Marcy Kaptur, Ice, Northwest Ohio, Kristi Noem