President Donald Trump on Saturday nominated Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper with over 29 years of law enforcement experience, to be the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency at the center of the administration’s mass deportation effort.
Trump announced the nomination in a Truth Social post, describing Schroyer as “a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst, including spearheading 287g Law Enforcement partnerships with ICE.”
Schroyer served as a state trooper in Oklahoma and is also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. For nearly a decade, he ran large-scale operations in Oklahoma and worked alongside state and federal partners to remove undocumented immigrants under the 287g program, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who endorsed the nomination on social media.
The 287g program allows state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws. Through these partnerships, trained local officers perform specified immigration enforcement duties, including identifying and processing individuals in custody for potential removal.
The nomination comes as ICE has long operated without a Senate-confirmed director. The agency has lacked a permanent, Senate-confirmed director since early 2017, instead relying on a series of acting directors for nearly a decade. David Venturella has served as interim ICE chief since June 1, 2026, following Todd Lyons’s departure in April after leading Trump’s deportation crackdown for over a year.
Mullin said in a statement that Schroyer’s “strong leadership and firsthand experience will empower the men and women of ICE to deport criminal illegal aliens, secure the homeland, and protect the American people.” Trump and Mullin both urged Congress to quickly confirm Schroyer’s appointment.
Sources
- CBS News — Trump’s nomination announcement, Schroyer’s background and experience, Mullin’s endorsement
- Washington Post — Trump’s nomination of Schroyer as ICE director
- ICE.gov — 287g program overview and delegation of authority
- American Immigration Council — 287g program description and state-local law enforcement collaboration
- The Hill — ICE’s lack of a confirmed director since 2017
- The New York Times — ICE history without Senate-confirmed directors since early 2017
