US President Donald Trump on Saturday nominated former Oklahoma state trooper and US Marine Lance Schroyer to serve as the next director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Announcing the nomination, Trump praised Schroyer as a law enforcement veteran “with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Schroyer will succeed Todd Lyons, who was appointed acting ICE director in March 2025. Lyons stepped down in May, a few weeks after the dismissal of then Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Lyons, Noem and former Customs and Border Protection chief Gregory Bovino were prominent figures in the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign during its most visible and controversial phase earlier this year.
Markwayne Mullin, who succeeded Noem, said Schroyer had played an active role in implementing the administration's immigration enforcement strategy.
“Lance is coming straight from the operational field where he ran large scale operations and worked alongside state and federal partners to remove illegal aliens from Oklahoma,” Mullin wrote on X.
Under US law, nominees to lead federal agencies are typically subject to Senate confirmation. However, ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since 2017, with the agency instead being led by a succession of acting directors.
“It has been 11 years since @DHSgov has had a Senate-confirmed @ICEgov director. The Senate must quickly confirm Lance Schroyer,” Mullin said.
The Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies have remained deeply divisive. Critics argue the deportation campaign has been excessively aggressive, while supporters say it is necessary to strengthen border security and enforce immigration laws.
The controversy intensified after federal agents killed two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during protests against immigration enforcement raids in the northern city of Minneapolis.
Deportations have continued, with public criticism increasingly focused on the large detention facilities where migrants are held while awaiting immigration proceedings.
