Overview
- A Politico report Friday, echoed by Newsweek and other outlets, said Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons spent nights in the hospital in September and December after acute episodes.
- Witnesses described Lyons breaking into a full sweat with his face turning deep red, and during a Los Angeles operation last summer a bodyguard fetched a defibrillator as a precaution.
- Several current and former officials blamed intense pressure from senior adviser Stephen Miller over deportation numbers and tactics, saying he yelled at Lyons on calls.
- Lyons said his stress was not due to the White House, and DHS and White House spokespeople defended his ties to Miller while the White House rapid response account dismissed the reporting as trash.
- The accounts surface as ICE pushes for 3,000 deportations a day, a goal sources say has been hard to reach, with deputies taking on extra duties when Lyons was described as struggling to make decisions.