Trump Taps PATRIOT as His Pick to Lead ICE

Donald Trump on Saturday announced Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, as his choice to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, praising him as a “PATRIOT” with a long record in law enforcement.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump highlighted Schroyer’s background as a former U.S. Marine and said he brings “real operational experience” to the immigration enforcement agency.

Trump also described Schroyer as a “proven leader” with “DECADES” of experience pursuing and jailing dangerous offenders, using his announcement to emphasize the nominee’s tough-on-crime credentials.

The nomination follows the resignation of former ICE director Todd Lyons, who stepped down at the end of May.

Since then, David Venturella, a former executive at a private prison operator, has been serving as the agency’s acting director.

The White House did not respond to questions about whether Schroyer would take over immediately in an acting capacity or whether Venturella would remain in the interim post while the confirmation process moves forward.

If confirmed, Schroyer would assume control of ICE during a politically charged moment, as public support has weakened for Trump’s immigration crackdown and the deployment of federal immigration officers into U.S. cities to arrest immigrants.

Those operations have intensified tensions in several communities, sparking confrontations between protesters and law enforcement and preceding the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.

ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since the Obama administration, a result of polarizing politics around the agency and immigration policy.

Schroyer hails from the same home state as the new Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former congressman. 

Mullin quickly praised Schroyer’s nomination on X.

‘With over 29 years of law enforcement experience, Lance will play a vital role in helping deliver on the President´s mandate from the American people to target, arrest, and deport illegal aliens,’ he wrote.

READ MORE: Police and Marchers Clash at San Francisco Trans March Following Arrests

Trump returned to the White House on a promise of mass deportations, and ICE has been a central executor of that vision. 

The agency is undergoing massive growth from a one-time injection of $75billion last year, which has allowed for the hiring of 12,000 officers and increased detention capacity. 

In a stark departure from the fiery rhetoric that has often defined the agency, sources told The Daily Mail in May that Mullin is actively pushing for a dramatic public relations pivot.

During a closed-door meeting, Mullin explicitly asked employees to stay away from politics at DHS, stressing a desire to roll out a ‘positive PR plan’ that focuses on administrative triumphs rather than ‘partisan border battles.’

To ensure his softer messaging strategy takes hold, Mullin’s loyalists – including Rebel Chandler, Raegan Lehman, and Kate Currie – are being quietly added to the existing public relations team.

The overall shift toward a more moderate tone may face turbulence from the agency’s original leaders. 

‘We’re going to win them back by just focusing on the worst of the worst, and kind of toning down the rhetoric,’ one source familiar with the White House strategy explained.

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 may have 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.