Todd Lyons, the acting director for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will leave the agency at the end of May, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Thursday.
Lyons is scheduled to work through May 31 and will then take a job in the private sector, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
“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,” Mullin said in a statement released Thursday.
“He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer. We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector. His last day is May 31, 2026.”
White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson responded to the news on X.
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appointed Lyons to lead ICE on March 9, 2025. At that time, Lyons was the acting executive associate director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. He was the former assistant director for field operations for Enforcement and Removal Operations and oversaw all 25 field offices and domestic operations.
Lyons replaced Caleb Vitello, then acting director of ICE, in March 2025. Vitello was reassigned.
Lyons started his career with the federal government with the United States Air Force in 1993. He joined civilian law enforcement in Florida in 1999 and then joined ICE in April 2007.
Earlier on Thursday, Lyons testified before the House Appropriations Committee about needing $5.4 billion for removal operations.
Lyons told the committee ICE has increased the department’s “operational tempo.”
Since Jan. 20, 2025, ICE has arrested 457,000 aliens, including 281,000 aliens with criminal histories, 8,400 suspected gang members, and 1,600 known or suspected terrorists, Lyons said.
ICE attorneys represented DHS in more than two million removal hearings in 2025, Lyons said.
“I am deeply proud to stand alongside the dedicated men and women of ICE who work tirelessly every day to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and safeguard our communities,” Lyons said. “Our officers and agents are being villainized for simply upholding and enforcing law.”
The White House stated that in 2025, Homeland Security conducted more than 4,800 arrests related to child exploitation and rescued nearly 1,500 child victims from ongoing sexual abuse. DHS has dismantled more than 2,400 human smuggling operations.
Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff, released a statement where he called Lyons “a phenomenal patriot and dedicated leader.”
“His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans,” Miller said in a statement.