The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), responsible for overseeing President Trump’s mass deportation plan, has submitted his resignation. The decision by Todd Lyons, conveyed on Thursday, was announced by Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, who described the ICE chief as “a great leader” and noted that Lyons will officially leave his post on May 31.
Hours before his resignation became public, Lyons testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee, answering lawmakers’ questions regarding an unprecedented number of deaths in ICE custody and the agency’s future plans for detention centers. According to official data, fifty ICE detainees have died in detention centers since the beginning of the year.
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Lyons led ICE during mass raids that, according to several non-governmental organizations, involved multiple human rights violations. In January, two U.S. citizens were killed by immigration agents’ gunfire in Minneapolis. These raids were ordered by then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who was dismissed on March 5. Since the Barack Obama administration (2009–2017), a Senate-confirmed director has not been appointed to lead ICE.
