WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Donald Trump on Monday (Jan 30) replaced the acting head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a holdover from Mr Barack Obama’s administration, as he battled mounting fallout over his controversial immigration orders.

No reason was given for the decision to replace Mr Daniel Ragsdale, announced barely an hour after Mr Trump fired another Obama appointee, acting attorney general Sally Yates, for breaking rank over the ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations.

Mr Ragsdale’s replacement, Mr Thomas Homan, will help “ensure that we enforce our immigration laws in the interior of the United States consistent with the national interest”, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement.

"Since 2013, Mr Homan has served as the executive associate director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). In this capacity, he led ICE’s efforts to identify, arrest, detain, and remove illegal aliens, including those who present a danger to national security or are a risk to public safety, as well as those who enter the United States illegally or otherwise undermine the integrity of our immigration laws and our border control efforts,'' Mr Kelly said.

"I look forward to working alongside him to ensure that we enforce our immigration laws in the interior of the United States consistent with the national interest.''