President Trump Nominates Former Oklahoma Trooper Lance Schroyer to Lead ICE

President Donald Trump has nominated a former Oklahoma state trooper to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency tasked with implementing his mass deportation agenda.

On Saturday, Trump announced Lance Schroyer as his nominee, highlighting Schroyer’s 29‑year law‑enforcement background and his service as a U.S. Marine.

Trump posted on Truth Social, saying, “Just like me and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, he loves the men and women of ICE.”

“Importantly, Lance Schroyer has the capability to detain and deport illegal‑alien criminals—including murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers—at an unprecedented rate.”

However, Schroyer lacks prior experience heading a federal agency, and his qualifications are expected to face close scrutiny during his Senate confirmation hearing.

Both Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, however, argued that Schroyer’s law‑enforcement record makes him suitable for the position.

Mullin noted that Schroyer comes directly from field operations, where he oversaw large‑scale efforts and collaborated with state and federal partners to remove unauthorized immigrants from Oklahoma under the 287(g) program, which authorizes state and local officers to perform limited immigration duties.

Although immigration enforcement is chiefly a federal responsibility, Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act permits ICE to deputize state and local officers to carry out specific functions under its oversight.

If confirmed, Schroyer would succeed acting ICE Director David Venturella, whose government immigration career dates back to the 1980s.

Venturella, previously employed by the private‑prison firm Geo Group, has been serving in an interim role since May, after the departure of another acting ICE director, Todd Lyons.

Lyons, who had been with ICE since 2007, announced in April that he would step down at month’s end.

He said he wanted to spend more time with his family, but his exit coincided with mounting criticism of ICE’s tactics, including accusations of excessive force and violations of civil liberties.

In January, for example, an ICE operation in Minnesota dubbed Operation Metro Surge led to the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good.

Other incidents provoked national outrage. In one case, immigration agents allegedly forced entry into a Minnesota home without a warrant, wrongfully detaining U.S. citizen Chongly Scott Thao and marching him outside in the snow in his underwear.

An ICE agent was also arrested after the non‑fatal shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa‑Celis, when Minneapolis prosecutors accused him of filing a false report.

Lyons himself acknowledged that the agent appeared to have made untruthful statements, launched an investigation, and noted that lying under oath constitutes a serious federal offense.

Trump’s immigration crackdown, both in Minnesota and elsewhere, has led critics to demand reforms to ICE operations.

At least 19 individuals have died in ICE custody this year. On Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged authorities to be held accountable for these deaths.

Separately, congressional Democrats earlier this year refused to approve funding for ICE and its sister agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, unless specific conditions were met.

These conditions included requiring immigration agents to clearly identify themselves, adhere to standards prohibiting excessive force, submit to oversight, and end racial profiling.

Although those reforms were not enacted, the legislative stalemate caused a months‑long delay in new funding for ICE and CBP.

Funding was finally approved on June 9, with both chambers voting along party lines.

Lyons’s decision to step down this year occurred amid a wider shakeup in the Trump administration, during which several cabinet secretaries and agency heads were dismissed or resigned over a few months.

Among those departing were Kristi Noem, the former Secretary of Homeland Security (which oversees ICE), and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who led the Justice Department and publicly supported ICE’s operations.

In his Saturday statement, Mullin—confirmed as Noem’s replacement in March—noted that ICE has lacked a Senate‑confirmed director for more than ten years.

The last Senate‑approved ICE director was Sarah Saldaña, an Obama appointee whose term concluded in 2017.

Since the beginning of Trump’s first term, only acting directors have headed the agency.

Mullin, a fellow Oklahoman, wrote in a post: “It has been 11 years since the Department of Homeland Security has had a Senate‑confirmed ICE director. The Senate must quickly confirm Lance Schroyer.”

Trump echoed the sentiment on his own social media, stating: “The Senate must confirm Lance immediately—do not delay. Together, we will make America safe again.”

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