President Trump on Saturday announced that he nominated Lance Schroyer, a veteran of Oklahoma law enforcement, to serve as his next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Trump called on the Senate to take up the nomination quickly. If successful, Schroyer would be the first Senate-confirmed ICE director to serve in that capacity since the Obama administration. The position has for years been filled with temporary leaders.

ICE, the primary agency responsible for arresting and deporting immigrants in the country illegally, is at the center of Trump's promise to carry out a mass deportation. It has been plagued by controversy since the start of his latest term.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, formerly a senator from Oklahoma, has sought to dial back the agency's profile since its operation in Minnesota, when immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in separate incidents. Since Mullin took office, he had advocated with officials in the White House to elevate a law-enforcement official from his home state, who wouldn't come with an already-charged record in immigration work, according to people familiar with the matter.

Todd Lyons, who was previously acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, oversaw the administration's migration crackdown before departing last month. He was replaced by David Venturella, a former private prison executive who is now serving in an interim capacity.

Trump noted that Schroyer and Mullin, both Oklahoma natives, share a similar mindset. "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," he wrote.

Mullin praised the choice as "a great pick," writing in a social-media post that Schroyer would be coming "from the operation field where he ran large scale operations" under a program known as 287$(G)$, which allows state and local law enforcement to carry out immigration arrests. In the last few months, ICE has been ramping up 287(G) agreements with state and local police departments in red states across the country. The program is viewed as valuable both as a force multiplier, and a way to carry out arrests in a more low-profile manner, since they are done by local police rather than officers wearing ICE uniforms.

Write to Philip Wegmann at philip.wegmann@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 27, 2026 16:34 ET (20:34 GMT)

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