Updated April 17, 2026 at 8:11 AM MST
President Trump's top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, Todd Lyons, said he would resign on Thursday as acting director, adding to the list of leadership shakeups at the Department of Homeland Security.
His exit, which will be effective May 31, comes amid continued scrutiny of his agency's aggressive immigration tactics and a record-long funding lapse from Congress that resulted in a lack of pay for ICE attorneys, investigators and administrative staff. It was not immediately clear why he was leaving.
Under his tenure, the agency took the lead in Trump's mass deportation agenda, rapidly scaling up sweeping arrests across the country. Lyons faced intense pressure to carry out the administration's deportation goals, which included 3,000 arrests a day. ICE has not met that number.
He also oversaw a hiring surge that brought on 12,000 new employees, a record-high number of people in immigration detention and over 570,000 deportations.
"Todd is a phenomenal patriot and dedicated leader who has been at the center of President Trump's historic efforts to secure our homeland and reverse the Democrats' sinister border invasion," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said in a statement. "His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans."
His resignation comes after several other staffing changes at the broader department after more than a year of Trump's second term. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former Oklahoma senator, took over from Kristi Noem to run the agency as of last month. Madison Sheahan, former deputy director at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, left her post at the start of the year to run for Congress. And top department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin left her role in February.
Lyons resigned after testifying on Capitol Hill earlier on Thursday. He and other senior leaders at DHS testified on their agencies' fiscal year 2027 budget requests — even as the agencies are still not funded for fiscal year 2026.
"I am deeply proud to stand alongside the dedicated men and women of ICE who work tirelessly every day to enforce our nation's immigration laws," Lyons said in opening remarks. "One of my top priorities is to ensure that ICE operates efficiently."
In recent months, Lyons also faced criticism and questions from lawmakers regarding various instances of use of force by his officers, including after an ICE officer shot and killed a U.S. citizen in Minnesota in January. Lyons told Congress the agency conducted 37 investigations into officers' use of force last year — though he didn't say whether anyone was fired. (Customs and Border Protection officers in January also shot and killed a U.S. citizen.)
Lyons also faced questions about the training new ICE recruits have received and the conditions under which deportees are detained. This year is also on track to break records for the number of people to have died in ICE custody.
Lyons joined the agency in 2007 after being with the U.S. Air Force. His next steps are unknown but a statement from Mullin said he would be pursuing an opportunity in the private sector.
"He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer," Mullin said. "We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector."
The ICE director must be confirmed by the Senate; Lyons had only been serving in an acting capacity. There has not been a Senate-confirmed ICE director since the Obama administration.
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