ICE Has Operated Without a Confirmed Director for Over a Decade
Trump nominated Lance Schroyer, currently a senior adviser to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, to serve as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on June 27, 2026. If the Senate confirms him, Schroyer would be the first Senate-confirmed ICE director since the Obama administration.
ICE has cycled through acting directors for years. Todd Lyons resigned as acting director at the end of May 2026. David Venturella, a longtime ICE official and former executive of a private prison corporation, took over in an acting capacity in June. Schroyer would be the third person to hold the agency’s top role this year.
29 years Schroyer’s law enforcement experience, cited by both Trump and Mullin as the primary qualification for leading an agency with roughly 20,000 employees and a $10+ billion annual budget.
That experience was largely state-level. Schroyer served as an Oklahoma state trooper and in the U.S. Marines. His most direct ICE-adjacent work came through the 287(g) program, a federal-state partnership that allows local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement functions. Mullin cited that experience directly, writing that Schroyer “ran large scale operations and worked alongside state and federal partners to remove illegal aliens from Oklahoma.”
Two Oklahomans Now Control Federal Immigration Enforcement
The nomination creates an unusual concentration of authority. Mullin, a former Oklahoma congressman, leads DHS, which oversees ICE. Schroyer, who currently reports to Mullin, would run ICE’s day-to-day enforcement if confirmed. Both Trump and Mullin are calling for a fast Senate confirmation.
The nomination comes as ICE’s tactics face ongoing scrutiny. A United Nations human rights official called for a probe into migrant deaths in U.S. detention centers earlier this month. The Supreme Court also recently expanded the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement powers, a ruling legal experts said could accelerate deportations.
On Truth Social, Trump described Schroyer as someone with “DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst” and said he has “what it takes to DETAIN AND DEPORT Illegal Alien Criminals.” The Constitution gives the Senate the power to confirm or reject that assessment.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your two senators at (202) 224-3121 and tell their staff you want a rigorous confirmation hearing for Schroyer that examines ICE detention conditions, the agency’s use of the 287(g) program, and Schroyer’s specific qualifications to lead a federal agency of 20,000 employees.
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Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee, which holds jurisdiction over immigration enforcement. Chair Chuck Grassley’s office can be reached at (202) 224-3744. Ask that the committee require Schroyer to testify publicly and answer questions about detention deaths and enforcement oversight before any vote.
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Find your senator’s local office at senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm. In-district calls carry more weight than Washington lines. Ask specifically whether your senator will demand an accounting of detention facility conditions during the confirmation process.
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Track the nomination at congress.gov by searching “Schroyer” under nominations. The timeline for a confirmation hearing has not been announced; watching the Senate calendar tells you when to escalate pressure.