Trump nominates veteran law enforcement officer Lance Schroyer to lead ICE as permanent director

President Donald Trump announced Saturday the nomination of Lance Schroyer as the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a position that has not had a Senate-confirmed director for 11 years.

Schroyer, a former Oklahoma State Trooper and former Marine, has more than 29 years of experience in law enforcement, according to a post by the president on the social media platform Truth.

“Lance is a former Oklahoma State Trooper, and United States Marine. 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!” Trump wrote.

“Lance has firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets and, just like ME and our Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, he LOVES the men and women of ICE. Importantly, Lance Schroyer has what it takes to DETAIN AND DEPORT Illegal Alien Criminals, including murders, rapists, and drug traffickers at a rate never seen before! Remember, our Administration has the HIGHEST Daily Arrest Rate by ICE and CBP than ANY other President, by far. It’s not even close!”

The president also called for confirmation without delay: “The Senate must CONFIRM Lance, IMMEDIATELY — Do not delay,” he wrote.

If confirmed, Schroyer would replace Acting Director David Venturella, who took over earlier this month from Todd Lyons. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, also a native of Oklahoma, endorsed the nomination and called on the Senate to move quickly through the process.

The nomination comes at a tense time for the agency, which is facing protests in several cities following two fatal shootings involving its agents in Minneapolis in January.