Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons submits resignation letter to DHS secretary

WASHINGTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons, a key executor of President Donald Trump’s mass deportations agenda, has resigned, federal officials announced Thursday.

Lyons submitted his resignation letter to Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons submits resignation

What we know:

According to a FOX News source, Lyons said in his letter he wants to spend more time with his family, including his sons, who are "reaching a pivotal point in their lives," and that it's been a privilege to serve under President Donald Trump.

What they're saying:

Secretary Mullin said in a statement that Lyons has been "a great leader."

"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. "He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer."

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson described Lyons in a post on X as "an American patriot who made our country safer."

What we don't know:

It was not immediately clear why Lyons was resigning, nor who would be replacing him.

"We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector," Mullins continued.

Todd Lyons' role as acting ICE director

Dig deeper:

Lyons, who joined ICE in 2007 as an immigration enforcement agent in Texas, led the agency at the center of Trump’s plans to reshape immigration to the U.S.

With an annual budget of nearly $10 billion and over $74 billion in One Big Beautiful Act funding, Lyons provided "strategic leadership to advance ICE’s national security and public safety mission in coordination with state, local, tribal, territorial, and international law enforcement partners," according to ICE.

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Lyons has overseen roughly 584,000 ICE deportations since Trump was inaugurated for a second term last year.

Prior to this appointment, Lyons directed the operations of more than 8,600 employees assigned to 25 Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) field offices and headquarters, in more than 200 domestic locations and 25 overseas locations, and he oversaw eight Assistant Directors of ERO’s headquarters divisions.

Lyons was previously in special forces in the U.S. Air Force. 

Public perceptions of ICE under Lyons were low. In a February AP-NORC poll, most U.S. adults, including independents, said they have an unfavorable view of the agency.

What's next:

Lyons' last day will be May 31, 2026.