President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he will nominate Lance Schroyer as the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), succeeding David Venturella, who had been performing the duties of the director. Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper and U.S. Marine, has over 29 years of law enforcement experience in Oklahoma, a state where Trump won all 77 counties in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections, according to a Truth Social post by the president.
Schroyer's Background and Experience
Trump described Schroyer as "a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst" and noted his "firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets." Schroyer previously led deportation campaigns in Oklahoma under the 287(g) program, a partnership between ICE and state or local law enforcement agencies that delegates federal immigration enforcement authority to local officers. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated on X that Schroyer "will play a vital role in helping deliver on the President's mandate from the American people to target, arrest, and deport illegal aliens." Mullin added that Schroyer "is coming straight from the operational field where he ran large scale operations and worked alongside state and federal partners to remove illegal aliens from Oklahoma under the 287g program."
Senate Confirmation and ICE Leadership
Both Trump and Mullin called on the Senate to quickly confirm Schroyer. Mullin noted that "it has been 11 years" since the Senate confirmed an ICE director. The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed director since early 2017. Trump has made cracking down on immigration a top priority since taking office last year, but rights groups argue that the government's actions violate civil liberties and create an unsafe environment for ethnic minorities.
ICE's Role in Immigration Crackdown
ICE has been central to Trump's immigration enforcement efforts, with its detention and deportation operations. In January, ICE agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota—Alex Pretti and Renee Good—sparking nationwide protests. Trump has justified the deportation campaign by stating it aims to cut illegal immigration and improve domestic security. In his post, Trump said Schroyer "has what it takes to DETAIN AND DEPORT Illegal Alien Criminals, including murders, rapists, and drug traffickers at a rate never seen before! Remember, our Administration has the HIGHEST Daily Arrest Rate by ICE and CBP than ANY other President, by far."
