ICE head Todd Lyons planning to leave agency this spring

Todd Lyons, acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is planning to leave the federal government later this spring.

The two-decade ICE veteran told colleagues he will depart in June to spend more time with family in Massachusetts before joining the private sector.

Lyons has led the agency for over a year at the forefront of President Trump’s nationwide deportation crackdown targeting millions of illegal immigrants.

His exit exposes the temporary and unstable nature of leadership at America’s primary immigration enforcement body.

ICE has cycled through nearly a dozen acting directors for almost a decade, lacking any Senate-confirmed permanent head since early 2017.

Lyons was named acting director only in March 2025.

The departure creates a major leadership void during the agency’s most visible and aggressive operations.

It will be one of the first major decisions for newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who replaced Kristi Noem after internal backlash over enforcement tactics.

Though well-liked among career officials, Lyons internally disagreed with some administration decisions, including controversial city roundups.

Under his watch, ICE received $75 billion to hire thousands more deportation agents and he signed a May 2025 memo authorizing agents to forcibly enter homes without judicial warrants in certain operations.