President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he nominated Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to take over as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I am very pleased to announce that I have nominated Lance Schroyer to be our next ICE Director,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Lance has over 29 YEARS of Law Enforcement experience in Oklahoma.”
Schroyer, who is a senior adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, will replace Todd Lyons. Lyons, who took over the role in March 2025 during the ramp-up of Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign, left the post last month.
Three sources familiar with Trump’s choice told NBC News that Mullin has been pushing for Schroyer to lead the agency for some time.
Schroyer has local law enforcement experience, but not specifically with ICE, which could come as a surprise to ICE rank-and-file officers and agents, two sources said.
A DHS official said acting Director David Venturella will continue to serve until Schroyer is confirmed.
Mullin congratulated Schroyer on Saturday, writing in a statement that Trump “made a great pick.”
“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,” he said in the statement.
No acting ICE director has been confirmed by the Senate since the second Obama administration. On Saturday, both Trump and Mullin urged the Senate to swiftly confirm Schroyer.
“The Senate must CONFIRM Lance, IMMEDIATELY — Do not delay,” Trump wrote in his post.
Schroyer was nominated on the heels of two Supreme Court victories for Trump’s anti-immigration agenda this week.
The high court ruled Thursday to remove the legal protections from thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants in the U.S., clearing a path for their deportation. The same day, it ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s bid to make it easier to regulate the entry of asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump on Saturday highlighted Schroyer’s expected role in carrying out his promise of large-scale deportations and immigration crackdowns across the U.S.
“Importantly, Lance Schroyer has what it takes to DETAIN AND DEPORT Illegal Alien Criminals,” he wrote. “He is a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst.”
During the second Trump administration, ICE and Border Patrol tactics have resulted in aggressive clashes in cities across the U.S., including Minneapolis, where agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in separate shootings.
On Thursday, the watchdog for the Department of Homeland Security announced it was launching two reviews related to ICE’s handling of detained migrants.
The reviews will examine both an increase in deaths of ICE detainees and whether ICE facilities are following proper use-of-force standards. Twenty people have died in ICE detention this year.
