by Sharon Rondeau
(Jun. 27, 2026) — On Saturday afternoon President Trump announced a nomination for the position of director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“I am very pleased to announce that I have nominated Lance Schroyer to be our next ICE Director,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post timestamped 3:34 p.m. EDT. “Lance has over 29 YEARS of Law Enforcement experience in Oklahoma — A State where I WON all 77 Counties in 2016, 2020, and 2024! Lance is a former Oklahoma State Trooper, and United States Marine.”
Effective May 31, 2026, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons resigned after serving in that capacity since March of last year as a nominee of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin also hails from the Sooner State, having served as a U.S. senator and representative for a combined 13 years prior to his nomination and Senate confirmation in March.
“He is 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!” Trump’s post continues of Schroyer. “Lance has firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets and, just like ME and our Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, he LOVES the men and women of ICE. Importantly, Lance Schroyer has what it takes to DETAIN AND DEPORT Illegal Alien Criminals, including murders, rapists, and drug traffickers at a rate never seen before!…”
Newsweek reported Saturday:
Schroyer is a longtime law enforcement officer with more than 29 years of experience in Oklahoma, largely within the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Over his career with the state agency, he rose through the ranks from trooper to major, overseeing emergency services operations, disaster response, and specialized tactical units.
He currently serves as a senior adviser to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin, coordinating enforcement strategies and acting as a liaison with local and regional agencies.
ICE has been criticized by many for its handling of Operation Metro Surge established to root out criminal illegal aliens from the nation’s major metropolitan areas, beginning with Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN in December 2025 with the deployment of approximately 2,000 agents.
In January, two U.S. citizens protesting ICE’s presence in the area were shot and killed. Renee Good lost her life on January 7 when an ICE agent shot at the vehicle she was driving during an enforcement operation after apparently perceiving Good was aiming the vehicle at him.
On January 24, Alex Pretti was killed by a Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agent who may have believed Pretti was holding a firearm during their interaction, though Encyclopedia Britannica reports the firearm was “tucked in his waistband.”
According to its website, ICE employs more than 20,000 people domestically and overseas and is appropriated approximately $8 billion annually.
Newsweek reported Saturday:
Schroyer is a longtime law enforcement officer with more than 29 years of experience in Oklahoma, largely within the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Over his career with the state agency, he rose through the ranks from trooper to major, overseeing emergency services operations, disaster response, and specialized tactical units.
He currently serves as a senior adviser to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin, coordinating enforcement strategies and acting as a liaison with local and regional agencies.
According to the AP, “Mullin brought Schroyer onstage at a National Sheriffs’ Association event, calling him a ‘good friend of mine and noting DHS had recently hired him.”
Finally in his post, Trump asked the U.S. Senate to hold hearings and confirm Schroyer “IMMEDIATELY.”