Trump to nominate former Oklahoma state trooper as ICE director
BREAKING: Trump nominates new ICE director
President Donald Trump announced the nomination of a new ICE director in a post on Truth Social on Saturday. Trump is tapping Lance Schroyer to serve as the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A onetime Oklahoma state trooper and former U.S. Marine is getting the nod to lead the nation’s immigration enforcement agency, President Donald Trump announced Saturday.
Big picture view:
President Donald Trump posted that he plans to nominate Lance Schroyer as the next Immigration and Customs Enforcement director and urged the Senate to confirm him as soon as possible.
What they're saying:
"He is a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst, including spearheading 287g Law Enforcement partnerships with ICE!" the president wrote.
The backstory:
Schroyer also quickly earned the praise of a fellow Oklahoman and the man who would be his boss, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Mullin, who served as an Oklahoma congressmember prior to joining Trump’s cabinet, recently brought Schroyer onstage with him at a National Sheriffs’ Association event, calling him a "good friend."
What they're saying:
Mullin was quick to celebrate Schroyer’s selection to lead ICE, saying, "President Trump made a great pick, and I’m confident Lance’s strong leadership and firsthand experience will empower the men and women of ICE to deport criminal illegal aliens, secure the homeland, and protect the American people."
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He also highlighted Schroyer’s 29-year career and said he has worked with federal and state partners on a U.S. immigration enforcement program.
Dig deeper:
Former senior ICE official Claire Trickler-McNulty noted that many previous ICE leaders have been lawyers, but acknowledged that state and local law enforcement officials have been nominated before. She added that his Oklahoma roots probably meant that the new DHS Secretary played a role in Schroyer’s forthcoming nomination.
Masked federal agents wearing a Police ICE jacket, stand in a hallway at the New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court inside the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York on March 17, 2026. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
Another onetime senior ICE official, John Torres, predicted an uphill climb for Schroyer as his bid heads to the Senate for confirmation. Torres added that Schroyer’s career at the local and state levels may help because he will not be carrying the baggage of the previous federal policies of any administration.
ICE has not had a director confirmed by the Senate since former President Barack Obama was in the White House.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.