\n<\/p>\n
\n President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he will nominate Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper and Marine, to be the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cLance 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,\u201d Trump posted on Truth Social.\n <\/p>\n
\n Trump, who called Schroyer a \u201cproven leader\u201d with over 29 years of law enforcement experience in Oklahoma, called on the Senate to immediately confirm him.\n <\/p>\n
\n ICE, which is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, has played a key role in Trump\u2019s effort to crack down on illegal immigration.\n <\/p>\n
\n Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told CNN in a statement that Schroyer is a \u201cgreat pick,\u201d adding that he is \u201cconfident Lance\u2019s 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.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Mullin, who represented Oklahoma in the Senate, said Schroyer is \u201ccoming straight from the operational field,\u201d where he worked alongside state and federal partners under the 287(g) program<\/a>. The program allows ICE to authorize state and local law enforcement officers to perform specific immigration enforcement duties under the federal agency\u2019s supervision.\n <\/p>\n \n Longtime immigration official David Venturella<\/a> is serving as the acting ICE director, after the previous acting director, Todd Lyons<\/a>, stepped down this spring. The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since the Obama administration.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt has been 11 years since the Department of Homeland Security has had a Senate confirmed ICE Director,\u201d Mullin said. \u201cThe Senate must quickly confirm Lance Schroyer.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Trump\u2019s nomination announcement comes after a chaotic year for ICE and DHS.\n <\/p>\n \n Lyons, a veteran of the federal agency who was tasked with overseeing the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation plan, faced immense scrutiny as the agency ramped up arrests last year and on the heels of the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents<\/a> in January.\n <\/p>\n \n Mullin, who took the reigns in March after Trump fired Kristi Noem<\/a>, has begun to make some policy changes<\/a> but faces pressure from lawmakers, including Republicans, to go further in seeking to right the embattled department.\n <\/p>\n