Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to Leave May 31 After Protests Over Fatal Urban Raids
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons will leave the agency on May 31, 2026, after submitting his resignation.
Lyons formally sent a resignation letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and said he plans to help with the transition while spending more time with his family. Mullin praised Lyons for having "jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years," and Fox reported Lyons oversaw roughly 584,000 deportations since President Trump's second inauguration.
Lyons' tenure coincided with a major enforcement surge and several controversies that critics say shaped his exit. Reporting by NPR and others says ICE ramped up arrests under a vast hiring and detention expansion and Lyons signed a memo authorizing warrantless home entries. High-profile raids in Chicago and Minneapolis ended after two American protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal immigration officers, drawing congressional questioning and legal scrutiny. A federal judge ordered Lyons to appear over concerns about ICE's compliance with detainee-rights directives, and data show assaults on ICE officers surged 1,347 percent during one recent period. In 2025, 32 people died while in ICE custody, a statistic critics cite when questioning the agency's oversight.
Early coverage, notably from Fox and agency statements, framed Lyons' departure as a personal choice to return to family and emphasized his enforcement achievements. Later reporting from NPR, the New York Times, MS NOW and Axios shifted the frame to controversies, citing the warrantless-entry memo, fatal shootings during raids, congressional testimony and a judge's order to appear. Social media reflected this split, with commentators like Lawfare's @rparloff highlighting the secret memo and legal questions, conservative accounts praising Lyons' work, and critics mocking or condemning his record.
📊 Relevant Data
From January 21, 2025 to January 7, 2026, there was a 1,347% increase in assaults against ICE law enforcement officers, with 281 assaults reported compared to 19 in the previous equivalent period.
Radical Rhetoric by Sanctuary Politicians Leads to an Unprecedented 1,300% Increase in Assaults Against ICE Officers — Department of Homeland Security
In 2025, 32 people died while in ICE custody.
ICE expansion has outpaced accountability. What are the remedies? — Brookings Institution
📌 Key Facts
- Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons submitted a resignation letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and will leave ICE effective May 31, 2026, remaining through that date to assist with the transition.
- The resignation was confirmed by DHS and widely reported by national outlets; Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised Lyons for having 'jumpstarted' the agency and said Lyons is heading to the private sector.
- Lyons told colleagues he is leaving to spend more time with his family, specifically citing his sons 'reaching a pivotal point in their lives.'
- Under Lyons, ICE oversaw a marked increase in enforcement, including about 584,000 deportations since President Trump’s second inauguration, and an agency-wide ramp-up of arrests after a congressional funding boost for expanded hiring and detention.
- His tenure coincided with controversial, intensified tactics and high-profile operations in cities such as Chicago and Minneapolis that ended after two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal immigration officers; Lyons was questioned by Congress about those deaths and declined to apologize, citing active investigations.
- Lyons signed a memo (first obtained by AP) granting officers broad authority to forcibly enter homes and make arrests without a judge’s warrant, and a federal judge ordered him to appear over concerns ICE failed to comply with detainee-rights directives.
- He testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee the same day he announced his departure, answering questions about ICE’s budget, enforcement priorities, and compliance with court orders.
- Lyons has a long career in immigration enforcement (joined ICE in 2007) and previously served in Air Force special forces.
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- NPR/AP confirm DHS announcement that Lyons will resign effective May 31 and quotes Secretary Markwayne Mullin praising him and saying he is heading to the private sector.
- Article explicitly frames Lyons as a key executor of President Trump’s mass deportations agenda and notes ICE received a massive cash infusion from Congress for expanded hiring and detention under his leadership.
- Reports that ICE ramped up arrests to meet administration demand and was central to high-profile operations in Chicago and Minneapolis that ended after two American protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal immigration officers.
- NPR cites a February AP-NORC poll finding most U.S. adults, including independents, hold an unfavorable view of ICE during Lyons’ tenure.
- Lyons faced congressional questioning about the deaths of Good and Pretti and refused to apologize for officials’ characterization of Good as an agitator, citing active investigations.
- Confirms Lyons signed a memo, first obtained by AP, granting officers sweeping powers to forcibly enter homes and make arrests without a judge’s warrant.
- Notes Lyons’ career path at ICE since 2007 and that his exit comes after Trump fired former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and installed Markwayne Mullin, who is striking a "softer tone" while still backing Trump’s agenda.
- MS NOW attribution that DHS has confirmed Lyons will remain in his post until May 31, phrased as 'later this spring.'
- Explicit description that Lyons’ tenure 'has coincided with a sharp increase in enforcement tactics,' including the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE officers in Minnesota.
- New detail that Lyons was ordered by a federal judge to appear over concerns ICE failed to comply with detainee-rights directives.
- Reporting that earlier the same day he testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee and was questioned about ICE’s budget, enforcement priorities, and compliance with court orders.
- Fresh on-the-record praise from White House border czar Tom Homan and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, including characterizations of Lyons as a 'phenomenal patriot' and 'highly respected and effective.'
- Confirms via New York Times that Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told reporters he plans to resign in May, aligning with his formal resignation letter staying through May 31.
- Adds national, mainstream confirmation of Lyons’ departure beyond earlier Fox-focused reporting and DHS statements.
- May include additional detail on internal reaction or political framing of his exit from within the administration and career staff (not visible in the scraped text but typical of NYT coverage).
- Axios provides an additional independent confirmation that Todd Lyons, acting ICE director, is leaving the agency.
- The Axios piece reinforces that his departure is a formal, imminent leadership change at ICE; however, based on the visible text, it does not add substantive facts beyond what is already reported (reasons for leaving, end date, Mullin’s reaction, deportation figures).
- Lyons has formally submitted his resignation letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
- He states he is leaving to spend more time with his family, specifically mentioning his sons ‘reaching a pivotal point in their lives.’
- His last day at ICE is set for May 31, 2026, and he will assist with the transition until then.
- Mullin issued a statement crediting Lyons with having ‘jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years’ and making ‘American communities safer.’
- Fox reports Lyons has overseen roughly 584,000 deportations since Trump’s second inauguration and notes his prior 20‑year ICE career and earlier service in Air Force special forces.