{"id":588988,"date":"2026-04-17T03:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T03:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/588988\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T03:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T03:28:09","slug":"ice-acting-director-todd-lyons-will-resign-at-end-of-may","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/588988\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE acting director Todd Lyons will resign at end of May"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> acting director Todd Lyons, a key executor of President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportations agenda, will resign at the end of May, federal officials announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

Homeland Security<\/a> Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Lyons\u2019 departure, calling him a great leader of ICE who helped to make American communities safer. Mullin said Lyons\u2019 last day will be May 31.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector,\u201d Mullin said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking why he is resigning.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Homeland<\/p>\n

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

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Lyons, who was named acting director in March 2025, led the agency at the center of President Donald Trump\u2019s plans to reshape immigration to the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

Under his leadership, the agency was granted a massive infusion of cash<\/a> through Congress, which it used to expand hiring and detention capabilities, and it ramped up arrests to meet demand from the administration. <\/p>\n

ICE was also central to a series of high-profile immigration enforcement operations in American cities, including Chicago and Minneapolis, a deployment that ended after backlash erupted over the deaths of two American protesters<\/a> at the hands of federal immigration officers.<\/p>\n

Stephen Miller, the president\u2019s deputy chief of staff and the main architect of his immigration policy, called Lyons a \u201cdedicated leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans,\u201d Miller said in a statement.<\/p>\n

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson described Lyons in a post on X as \u201can American patriot who made our country safer.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear who might replace Lyons. But whoever does will take over an agency flush with cash while still a flashpoint for controversy. ICE is at the center of a battle in Congress,<\/a> with Democratic lawmakers demanding restraints on immigration officers before agreeing to restore routine funding for DHS.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Lyons, along with two other top immigration officials, appeared before a House subcommittee to argue for his agency\u2019s budget and faced continued scrutiny from lawmakers of ICE\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

Lyons\u2019 departure also comes as DHS is under new leadership after Trump fired former Secretary Kristi Noem, who led the department through the administration\u2019s major immigration policy changes.<\/p>\n

Mullin, who took over as secretary last month, is likely to continue to advance the president\u2019s agenda but has struck a softer tone on some of the administration\u2019s most contentious policies.<\/p>\n

Public perceptions of ICE during Lyons\u2019 tenure were low. In a February AP-NORC poll,<\/a> most U.S. adults, including independents, said they have an unfavorable view of the agency.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Todd<\/p>\n

Todd Lyons, acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs. Enforcement (ICE), speaks during a television interview the White House Nov. 3, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)<\/p>\n

Todd Lyons, acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs. Enforcement (ICE), speaks during a television interview the White House Nov. 3, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)<\/p>\n

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Lyons faced questions in Congress over the shooting deaths of Renee Good<\/a> and Alex Pretti<\/a> and was asked if he would apologize for the way some Trump administration officials characterized Good as an agitator. He declined to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private. But I\u2019m not going to comment on any active investigation,\u201d Lyons said.<\/p>\n

Lyons said he had seen video that captured Pretti\u2019s shooting but said he could not comment, citing an active investigation.<\/p>\n

Lyons, who joined ICE in 2007 as an immigration enforcement agent in Texas, signed off on a memo,<\/a> first obtained by The Associated Press, that granted federal immigration officers sweeping powers to forcibly enter homes and make arrests without a judge\u2019s warrant. <\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s border czar Tom Homan described Lyons as serving selflessly and \u201ca highly respected and effective acting Director of ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n

__<\/p>\n

Golden reported from Seattle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons, a key executor of President Donald…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[53878,203372,236,3505,12,88,793,790,4801,118966,196794,111,191965,7072,21612,29207,3770,6148,800],"class_list":{"0":"post-588988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-abigail-jackson","9":"tag-alex-pretti","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-district-of-columbia","12":"tag-donald-trump","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-general-news","15":"tag-immigration","16":"tag-kristi-noem","17":"tag-markwayne-mullin","18":"tag-minnesota-ice-crackdown","19":"tag-politics","20":"tag-renee-good","21":"tag-stephen-miller","22":"tag-todd-lyons","23":"tag-tom-homan","24":"tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security","25":"tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","26":"tag-washington-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}