Top ICE official resigns to seek battleground congressional seat in Ohio
Jan 15, 2026, 11:48 AM | Updated: 1:58 pm
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A top ICE official resigned her job on Thursday in hopes of ousting the longest-serving woman in Congress, Democrat Marcy Kaptur, this fall.
In a video launching her campaign for Ohio’s 9th House District, former ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said she had stopped more illegal immigration in her less than a year on the job than Kaptur had in her 43 years in Washington.
“In Washington, excuses and failure can earn you a lifetime job,” she said. “But on my family farm, that would have put us out of business.”
The 28-year-old native of tiny Curtice, Ohio, near the shores of Lake Erie, posted her resignation letter on the social media platform X.
In it, she thanks President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their “steadfast commitment” to the agency and expressed pride in what ICE has accomplished.
Kaptur’s seat is among top targets for national Republicans this fall, as it is every cycle. She defeated Republican state Rep. Derek Merrin by such a close margin two years ago that The Associated Press did not call the race until official results were entered, more than two weeks after the election. The final result was 48.3% to 47.6%.
