President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he plans to nominate Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to serve as the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described Schroyer, a former U.S. Marine, as a “PATRIOT with real operational experience.” He also praised him as a “proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst.”
Schroyer comes from the same home state as newly installed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the former congressman from Oklahoma. Earlier this month, Mullin introduced Schroyer at a National Sheriffs’ Association event, calling him a “good friend of mine” and noting that DHS had recently brought him on board.
Mullin was quick to endorse the nomination Saturday, issuing a statement that pointed to Schroyer’s 29-year law enforcement career and his experience working with federal and state partners on a U.S. immigration enforcement program.
“President Trump made a great pick, and I’m confident Lance’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,” Mullin said.
If confirmed, Schroyer would take over ICE during a volatile period for the agency. Public sentiment has increasingly turned against Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has sent waves of federal immigration officers into U.S. cities to detain immigrants. The raids have inflamed tensions and sparked confrontations between protesters and law enforcement, including incidents that led to the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Trump returned to the White House after campaigning on a pledge to carry out mass deportations, with ICE serving as one of the main agencies tasked with carrying out that agenda. The agency is also expanding rapidly after receiving a one-time $75 billion funding boost last year, money that has supported the hiring of 12,000 officers and an increase in detention capacity.
Mullin, who took over DHS in March, has said he wants to keep the department out of the headlines and has signaled a more measured tone on immigration. Still, he is expected to remain aligned with the president’s broader push for mass deportations.
Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former senior ICE official, said prior confirmed ICE directors have often been attorneys, though some state and local law enforcement officials have also been nominated. She said his background in Oklahoma suggests Mullin likely had influence over the pick.
“I think probably given the attention on ICE, he wants to feel like he has somebody he can trust in there,” she said in an interview.
John Torres, another senior ICE official, said Schroyer faces an uphill climb toward Senate confirmation but his experience being at the state and local level instead of the federal level might help.
“He won’t have any of that baggage, where they’re going to turn around and say, oh, well, he worked for this administration or that,” Torres said.
Schroyer’s nomination comes after former ICE director Todd Lyons resigned at the end of May. David Venturella, a former executive at a private prison operator, has been serving as the acting head of the agency. Venturella is expected to stay on as the acting director until Schroyer is Senate confirmed, according to a DHS official speaking on condition of anonymity.
ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since the Obama administration, a result of polarizing politics around the agency and immigration policy.
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Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat and Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.
