Updated February 17, 2026 at 4:22 PM EST
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, is leaving the agency, the department confirmed on Tuesday.
McLaughlin has become the public face and voice defending the Trump administration's mass deportation policy and immigration tactics over the past year.
"McLaughlin started planning to leave in December but pushed back her departure amid the aftermath of the shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers, according to the people briefed on her exit," DHS said in a statement to NPR.
POLITICO first reported her departure. It is not clear where she is going next. McLaughlin in a statement said Lauren Bis, currently her deputy, will replace her as assistant secretary for public affairs, while Katie Zacharia will become deputy assistant secretary.
"I am immensely proud of the team we built and the historic accomplishments achieved by this Administration and the Department of Homeland Security," McLaughlin said in the statement. "I look forward to continuing the fight ahead."
McLaughlin's exit comes at a tumultuous time for the agency. DHS is currently shut down after lawmakers failed to pass a budget to fund it through the end of the fiscal year in September.
And high-ranking immigration officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, have been summoned to Capitol Hill to testify on the immigration crackdown after immigration agents shot and killed Good and Pretti in Minneapolis.
McLaughlin has been among the most public-facing agency spokespeople, participating in several network interviews. Beyond speaking on DHS' immigration initiatives, McLaughlin also fielded interviews and questions about Noem's handling of national disaster relief and resources, and other parts of the sprawling agency.
Noem praised McLaughlin's work in a statement online, saying she "served with exceptional dedication, tenacity, and professionalism."
"While we are sad to see her leave, we are grateful for her service and wish Tricia nothing but success," she wrote on the social platform X.
Immigration has been the largest part of McLaughlin's portfolio. She often took to network shows and to social media to promote immigration arrests made by the administration, defend actions by DHS agents, and encouraged immigrants to "self-deport."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries praised news of her departure online; "Another MAGA extremist forced out of DHS. Noem next," he posted on X.
Most recently, McLaughlin defended Noem's description of Pretti as a "domestic terrorist" after Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed him — claims that eventually drew sharp scrutiny from lawmakers, including some Republicans.
"Initial statements were made after reports from CBP on the ground. It was a very chaotic scene," McLaughlin told Fox Business late last month. "The early statements that were released were based on the chaotic scene on the ground and we really need to have true, accurate information to come to light."
During last week's congressional hearings, the heads of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement both denied that they, or anyone under their chains of command, had given Noem information to substantiate that claim that Pretti was a domestic terrorist.
An NPR analysis published in January showed that DHS has made unproven or incorrect claims on social media or in press releases when describing immigrants targeted for deportation or U.S. citizens arrested during protests.
Copyright 2026 NPR
