President Trump announced Saturday that he intends to nominate Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper and US Marine, to serve as the next director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The nomination was announced on Trump's Truth Social platform.
The pick comes after months of leadership instability at ICE. Todd Lyons resigned as acting director at the end of May. David Venturella, a longtime ICE official and former executive at a private prison corporation, has been running the agency in an acting capacity since June. ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since the Obama administration.
According to NPR, Schroyer currently serves as a senior adviser to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former Oklahoma congressman, and oversees coordination of immigration enforcement across the agency.
Trump described Schroyer on Truth Social as a "PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst." He added: "He LOVES the men and women of ICE."
Mullin backed the nomination on the social media platform X. "With over 29 years of law enforcement experience, Lance will play a vital role in helping deliver on the President's mandate from the American people to target, arrest, and deport illegal aliens," Mullin wrote. Both Trump and Mullin called for a quick Senate confirmation.
If confirmed, Schroyer would become the first Senate-confirmed ICE director in years and would work alongside Mullin to carry out the administration's immigration enforcement agenda. The agency has faced ongoing scrutiny over its tactics during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
