Overview
- Todd Lyons, who has led U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on an interim basis, was confirmed Thursday by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to be leaving May 31, with officials saying he will move to the private sector and reports citing family reasons.
- Hours before the announcement, Lyons testified to House appropriators about deaths in ICE custody and plans to add detention space, as lawmakers cited a years-high toll that reached 32 in 2025.
- Under Lyons, ICE expanded raids to their highest level since 2004 and held more than 68,000 people by December 2025, with about three in four detainees reported as having no criminal record.
- His tenure drew intense scrutiny after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens during January operations in Minneapolis, and a Minnesota judge ordered Lyons to appear over alleged failures to provide required bond hearings.
- No successor has been named, and ICE has gone years without a Senate-confirmed director, even as internal planning documents describe a push to expand detention capacity, including an investment near $40 billion to acquire or convert facilities.