WASHINGTON — Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a key executor of President Trump’s mass deportations agenda, will resign at the end of May, federal officials announced Thursday.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Lyons’ departure, calling him a great leader of ICE who helped to make American communities safer. Mullin said Lyons’ last day will be May 31.
“We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector,” Mullin said in a statement.
Lyons, who joined ICE in 2007 as an immigration enforcement agent in Texas, led the agency at the center of Trump’s plans to reshape immigration to the U.S.
Under his leadership, the agency was granted a massive infusion of cash through Congress, which it used to expand hiring and detention capabilities, and also to ramp up arrests to meet demand from the administration.
ICE was also central to a series of high-profile immigration enforcement operations in American cities, including Chicago and Minneapolis, a deployment that ended after backlash erupted over the deaths of two American protesters.
It’s not clear who might replace Lyons. But whoever does will take over an agency flush with cash while still a flash point for controversy. ICE is at the center of a battle in Congress, with Democratic lawmakers demanding restraints on immigration officers before agreeing to restore routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff and the architect of his immigration policy, called Lyons “a phenomenal patriot and dedicated leader.”
“His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans,” Miller said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear why Lyons was resigning.
Public perceptions of ICE under Lyons were low. In a February AP-NORC poll, most U.S. adults, including independents, said they have an unfavorable view of the agency.
Lyons faced questions in Congress over the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and was asked if he would apologize for the way some Trump administration officials characterized Good as an agitator. He declined to do so.
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private. But I’m not going to comment on any active investigation,” Lyons said.
Lyons said he had seen video that captured Pretti’s shooting but said he could not comment, citing an active investigation.
Lyons signed off on a memo, first obtained by the Associated Press, that granted federal immigration officers sweeping powers to forcibly enter homes and make arrests without a judge’s warrant.
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