Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement who oversaw the agency’s aggressive mass deportation operations, will resign effective May 31, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday. The departure comes just hours after Lyons testified before Congress that at least 44 people have died in ICE custody during his tenure, the highest number in the agency’s history.
Lyons was appointed acting director in March 2025 and led ICE through some of its most controversial operations, including high profile enforcement actions in Democratic run cities that sparked nationwide protests. Under his leadership, ICE conducted nearly 379,000 arrests and removed over 475,000 people from the United States in the first year of the Trump administration. The crackdowns generated outrage after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in separate incidents in Minneapolis during January 2026. Lyons declined to apologize for the shootings at a February congressional hearing, and federal investigations into the deaths remain stalled with state officials accusing the administration of withholding evidence.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised Lyons as “a great leader” who helped make “American communities safer,” while White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller called him “a phenomenal patriot” who was “at the center of President Trump’s historic efforts to secure our homeland”. The resignation follows a pattern of turnover at DHS, Mullin himself replaced Kristi Noem last month after Trump fired her, and Noem had replaced Lyons’ predecessor Caleb Vitello in March 2025. There was no replacement named or explain given on why Lyons is leaving for the private sector.
The departure leaves ICE at a crossroads. The agency has received massive congressional funding to expand detention capacity and removal flights, but faces mounting legal challenges and Democratic demands for restraints on immigration enforcement before routine DHS funding is restored. With 44 deaths in custody and two American citizens killed by federal agents during his tenure, Lyons leaves behind a legacy of expanded enforcement capacity shadowed by unique controversy and questions about accountability.
