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ICE acting director Todd Lyons will resign at end of May, DHS says
+647 words added -609 words removed
− By
The Associated Press
FILE - Todd Lyons, senior official performing the duties of the director at U.S.
+ Ximena Bustillo
FILE - Todd Lyons, senior official performing the duties of the director at U.S.
− Tom Brenner/AP hide caption
WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons, a key executor of President Donald Trump's mass deportations agenda, will resign at the end of May, federal officials announced Thursday.
+ Tom Brenner/AP hide caption
President Trump's top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, Todd Lyons, said he would resign on Thursday as acting director, adding to the list of leadership shakeups at the Department of Homeland Security.
− Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Lyons' departure, calling him a great leader of ICE who helped to make American communities safer.
+ His exit, which will be effective May 31, comes amid continued scrutiny of his agency's aggressive immigration tactics and a record-long funding lapse from Congress that resulted in a lack of pay for ICE attorneys, investigators and administrative staff.
− Mullin said Lyons' last day will be May 31.
+ It was not immediately clear why he was leaving.
− "We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector," Mullin said in a statement.
+ Under his tenure, the agency took the lead in Trump's mass deportation agenda, rapidly scaling up sweeping arrests across the country.
− The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking why he is resigning.
+ Lyons faced intense pressure to carry out the administration's deportation goals, which included 3,000 arrests a day. ICE has not met that number.
− Lyons, who was named acting director in March 2025, led the agency at the center of President Donald Trump's plans to reshape immigration to the U.S.
+ Immigration Top five takeaways from Homeland Security budget hearings He also oversaw a hiring surge that brought on 12,000 new employees, a record-high number of people in immigration detention and over 570,000 deportations.
− Under his leadership, the agency was granted a massive infusion of cash through Congress, which it used to expand hiring and detention capabilities, and it ramped up arrests to meet demand from the administration.
+ "Todd is a phenomenal patriot and dedicated leader who has been at the center of President Trump's historic efforts to secure our homeland and reverse the Democrats' sinister border invasion," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said in a statement. "His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans."
His resignation comes after several other staffing changes at the broader department after more than a year of Trump's second term. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former Oklahoma senator, took over from Kristi Noem to run the agency as of last month. Madison Sheahan, former deputy director at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, left her post at the start of the year to run for Congress. And top department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin left her role in February.
− ICE was also central to a series of high-profile immigration enforcement operations in American cities, including Chicago and Minneapolis, a deployment that ended after backlash erupted over the deaths of two American protesters at the hands of federal immigration officers.
Stephen Miller, the president's deputy chief of staff and the main architect of his immigration policy, called Lyons a "dedicated leader."
"His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans," Miller said in a statement.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson described Lyons in a post on X as "an American patriot who made our country safer."
It's not clear who might replace Lyons.
+ Politics Trump fires Kristi Noem as DHS chief, names Sen.
− But whoever does will take over an agency flush with cash while still a flashpoint for controversy.
+ Markwayne Mullin to replace her Lyons resigned after testifying on Capitol Hill earlier on Thursday.
− ICE is at the center of a battle in Congress, with Democratic lawmakers demanding restraints on immigration officers before agreeing to restore routine funding for DHS.
+ He and other senior leaders at DHS testified on their agencies' fiscal year 2027 budget requests — even as the agencies are still not funded for fiscal year 2026.
− On Thursday, Lyons, along with two other top immigration officials, appeared before a House subcommittee to argue for his agency's budget and faced continued scrutiny from lawmakers of ICE's actions.
Lyons' departure also comes as DHS is under new leadership after Trump fired former Secretary Kristi Noem, who led the department through the administration's major immigration policy changes.
Mullin, who took over as secretary last month, is likely to continue to advance the president's agenda but has struck a softer tone on some of the administration's most contentious policies.
Public perceptions of ICE during Lyons' tenure were low.
+ "I am deeply proud to stand alongside the dedicated men and women of ICE who work tirelessly every day to enforce our nation's immigration laws," Lyons said in opening remarks.
− In a February AP-NORC poll, most U.S.
+ "One of my top priorities is to ensure that ICE operates efficiently."
In recent months, Lyons also faced criticism and questions from lawmakers regarding various instances of use of force by his officers, including after an ICE officer shot and killed a U.S.
− adults, including independents, said they have an unfavorable view of the agency.
+ citizen in Minnesota in January. Lyons told Congress the agency conducted 37 investigations into officers' use of force last year — though he didn't say whether anyone was fired. (Customs and Border Protection officers in January also shot and killed a U.S. citizen.)
Immigration ICE conducted 37 investigations into officer misconduct in last year Lyons also faced questions about the training new ICE recruits have received and the conditions under which deportees are detained. This year is also on track to break records for the number of people to have died in ICE custody.
− Lyons faced questions in Congress over the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and was asked if he would apologize for the way some Trump administration officials characterized Good as an agitator.
+ Lyons joined the agency in 2007 after being with the U.S.
− He declined to do so.
+ Air Force. His next steps are unknown but a statement from Mullin said he would be pursuing an opportunity in the private sector.
− "I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private.
+ "He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years.
− But I'm not going to comment on any active investigation," Lyons said.
+ Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer," Mullin said. "We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector."
The ICE director must be confirmed by the Senate; Lyons had only been serving in an acting capacity. There has not been a Senate-confirmed ICE director since the Obama administration.
− Lyons said he had seen video that captured Pretti's shooting but said he could not comment, citing an active investigation.
Lyons, who joined ICE in 2007 as an immigration enforcement agent in Texas, signed off on a memo, first obtained by The Associated Press, that granted federal immigration officers sweeping powers to forcibly enter homes and make arrests without a judge's warrant.
Trump's border czar Tom Homan described Lyons as serving selflessly and "a highly respected and effective acting Director of ICE."
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