WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has nominated former Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer to serve as the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), seeking to install a Senate-confirmed leader at the agency responsible for carrying out the administration's immigration enforcement agenda. Trump announced the nomination on Saturday, urging the Senate to act quickly on Schroyer's confirmation.
The nomination would fill a position that has lacked a Senate-confirmed director since 2017, with the agency led by a series of acting officials amid years of political disputes over immigration policy. ICE has played a central role in the Trump administration's expanded immigration enforcement efforts since the president returned to office in 2025, making the leadership appointment a significant personnel decision for the Department of Homeland Security.
In a post on Truth Social announcing the nomination, Trump described Schroyer as a "PATRIOT with real operational experience" and a "proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst." Trump said Schroyer brings more than 29 years of law enforcement experience in Oklahoma and also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Schroyer currently serves as a senior adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin after a career with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. Officials said he has also been involved in expanding partnerships under the federal 287(g) program, which authorizes participating state and local law enforcement agencies to assist with certain immigration enforcement functions.
Mullin welcomed the nomination in a public statement, saying 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." The homeland security secretary also called on senators to move the nomination forward, noting that ICE has gone years without a Senate-confirmed director.
Schroyer's nomination follows the resignation of former acting ICE Director Todd Lyons at the end of May. David Venturella is serving as acting director while the agency awaits Senate action on Trump's nominee, according to reports citing a Department of Homeland Security official.
The nomination must be considered by the U.S. Senate before Schroyer can assume the position. As of Saturday, no confirmation hearing or Senate vote had been announced.
