Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the move on Thursday.
WASHINGTON โ Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will be leaving his post this spring.
Markwayne Mullin, the new head of Homeland Security, made the announcement on Thursday evening.
“Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer,” Mullin said in a statement. “We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector.”
Mullin did not give a reason for Lyons’ departure. Lyons’ last day will be May 31, Mullin said in his statement.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson described Lyons in a post on X as โan American patriot who made our country safer.โ
It was not clear who will replace Lyons. The appointment will be one of the first for Mullin, who became Homeland Security secretary last month after President Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem.
Lyons was appointedย acting director for ICE in March 2025, after his predecessor Caleb Vitello was reassigned. Prior to his appointment, Lyons was the former assistant director of field operations for the agency’s enforcement arm. He joined ICE in 2007 as an immigration enforcement agent in Texas.
Trumpโs border czar Tom Homan described Lyons as serving selflessly and โa highly respected and effective acting Director of ICE.โ
Lyons has presided over ICE during controversial mass immigration crackdowns in Democratic-run cities that led to protests. Officers were accused of using force to arrest immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions and bypassing due process to rapidly deport immigrants.
Two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents during protests in Minneapolis earlier this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
