Trump picks former Oklahoma trooper Lance Schroyer to head ICE, pressing for first confirmed director in years
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will nominate Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper and US Marine, to serve as the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pressing the Senate for immediate confirmation after more than a decade without a permanent agency head.
Nomination announcement
Trump named Schroyer in a Truth Social post, calling him "a PATRIOT with real operational experience" and a "proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst." He and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin both urged the Senate to act quickly. Mullin noted that it has been 11 years since the last Senate-confirmed ICE director.
Lance has over 29 YEARS of Law Enforcement experience in Oklahoma. The Senate must CONFIRM Lance, IMMEDIATELY -- Do not delay.
Schroyer's law enforcement background
Schroyer spent nearly three decades in Oklahoma law enforcement, serving as a state trooper and in the US Marine Corps. Most recently he ran large-scale deportation operations under ICE's 287(g) program, which delegates federal immigration enforcement authority to local and state officers. Mullin described him as coming "straight from the operational field" and said he will help deliver the president's mandate to arrest and deport illegal aliens.
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 under the 287g program.
Years of acting leadership at ICE
The agency has operated without a Senate-confirmed director since early 2017. David Venturella, a former Geo Group executive, has served as acting director since May, stepping in after Todd Lyons resigned. Lyons announced in April he would leave at the end of that month, citing family time but departing amid scrutiny of ICE tactics following the January fatal shooting of two US citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, during an enforcement operation in Minnesota.
- David Venturella becomes acting ICE director after Todd Lyons steps down.
- President Trump announces Lance Schroyer as nominee for ICE director.
Deportation campaign and civil liberties concerns
Trump's administration has made immigration enforcement a top priority, claiming the highest daily arrest rates by ICE and Customs and Border Protection ever. Rights groups say the crackdown violates civil liberties and creates an unsafe environment for ethnic minorities. In his nomination post, Trump said Schroyer would detain and deport "Illegal Alien Criminals, including murders, rapists, and drug traffickers at a rate never seen before."
Importantly, Lance Schroyer has what it takes to DETAIN AND DEPORT Illegal Alien Criminals, including murders, rapists, and drug traffickers at a rate never seen before!
Confirmation path ahead
If confirmed, Schroyer would become the first Senate-confirmed ICE director in more than a decade. His relative inexperience in Washington could face scrutiny in confirmation hearings, but Trump and Mullin are framing his field-level deportation work as the right credential for the post.
