Trump nominates Oklahoma lawman as ICE director

Yash Roy, Bloomberg News on Jun 27, 2026

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President Donald Trump said he will nominate Lance Schroyer as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his first pick to hold the job permanently in his second term.

Trump said in a social media post on Saturday that Schroyer is a former Oklahoma state trooper and U.S. Marine.

“He is a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst,” Trump wrote.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin lauded the pick, writing on social media that Schroyer is “coming straight from the operational field where he ran large scale operations.” Mullin represented Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate.

In early June, Mullin told attendees at the National Sheriff Association’s annual conference that he hired Schroyer at the Department of Homeland Security to help enable more partnerships between the federal government and local police for immigration enforcement.

Mullin added Schroyer is a “good friend” and joined DHS soon after he retired as a major in charge of Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s tactical team.

ICE has not had a permanent director since 2017, when Trump picked Tom Homan, now his border czar, to run the agency. The Senate never acted on the confirmation and Homan asked for his nomination to be withdrawn in 2018.

Schroyer is the first person Trump has nominated to head the immigration agency in his second term. Todd Lyons was the acting head of ICE for much of the current term, and he left the post on May 31. Currently, David Venturella, the former head of a private prison group, is the acting ICE director.

Trump called for the Senate to “immediately” confirm Schroyer, but it is on recess until July 13.

The immigration agency has been at the center of the mass deportations and detentions that have driven Trump’s agenda, and came under fire during its harsh crackdown on immigration protesters in Minnesota in January.

Lyons oversaw the rapid expansion of ICE ranks, while repeatedly defending the use of force in raids across the U.S. He was also a vocal defender of agents wearing masks, saying they needed to conceal their identities for safety.

Two ICE agents were charged with felony assault in Minnesota on the same day Lyons announced his plans to leave the agency. The agents were accused of waving a gun at passing motorists during a surge of immigration enforcement in the state.

An ICE agent in Minnesota also shot and killed Renée Good, who was driving away from them. Less than a week later, Customs and Border Patrol officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, a peaceful protester.

The killing of both Americans by federal agents led to large protests across the nation, forcing the Trump administration to end the surge operations in February. The head of the U.S. Border Patrol, Michael Banks, also resigned in May.