ICE acting director Todd Lyons will resign, Homeland Security says
Acting Director Todd Lyons will leave the job May 31, DHS said. The announcement comes within hours of a public hearing on the record number of detainee deaths in ICE detention centers.
Michael LoriaTodd Lyons, the acting director of ICE who oversaw immigration enforcement crackdowns linked to killings in Minnesota and Illinois, announced his intention to resign at the end of May, the Department of Homeland Security announced April 16.
"Director Lyons has been a great leader of ICE and key player in helping the Trump administration remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members from American communities. He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer," Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Thursday evening in a statement. "We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector. His last day is May 31, 2026."
Lyons' resignation comes within hours of a hearing on Capitol Hill where the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leader told lawmakers that at least 44 people have died in agency custody since he began his acting tenure in March 2025. The number of people who have died in ICE custody during Trump’s second term is the highest in the agency’s lifetime.
The resignation of the controversial Homeland Security official is the latest department shakeup. Mullin, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma, replaced Lyons’ former boss Homeland Security Kristi Noem after Trump fired her in March.
Noem’s ouster also came after a congressional hearing where she faced tough questions about her conduct on the job, namely a $220 million ad campaign that featured her prominently.
Lyons could not be immediately reached for comment.
