U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Executive Associate Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Thomas D. Homan is pictured in this undated handout photo. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday appointed Thomas Homan acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security said.

Homan has served as the executive director of the ICE’s enforcement and removal operations, leading its efforts to arrest and removal of undocumented immigrants since 2013, DHS Secretary John Kelly said in a statement.

Homan replaces Daniel Ragsdale as the acting director of ICE. Ragsdale remains deputy director at the agency where he has served for four years, ICE said in a Tweet.

Kelly did not give a reason for the change in ICE leadership, only to say that Homan “will continue to serve as a strong, effective leader for the men and women of ICE.”

Also on Monday, Trump fired top federal government lawyer Sally Yates after she defied the White House and refused to defend new travel restrictions targeting seven Muslim-majority countries.

The White House said that Dana Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was sworn in at 9 p.m. ET and would be acting U.S. attorney general until Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, who is awaiting Senate confirmation, is approved.