Trump names Lance Schroyer as new ICE director nominee
Schroyer previously served as an Oklahoma State Trooper.
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he’s nominating Lance Schroyer, a longtime law enforcement officer from Oklahoma, to be his nominee for Immigration and Customs Enforcement director.
In his announcement, Trump touted Schroyer's 29 years of service as a law enforcement officer in Oklahoma and said Schroyer will enforce the administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
"He is a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst," Trump said in a social media post.
Schroyer, who previously served as an Oklahoma State Trooper and a U.S. Marine, currently serves as a senior advisor to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin.
Mullin, a former senator from Oklahoma, and Schroyer have had a longstanding relationship and he was Mullin's pick to lead ICE, a source with knowledge of the decision told ABC News.
David Venturella has been the acting ICE director since he took over for Todd Lyons, who stepped down from the role on May 31. Ventrella will stay on until Schroyer's confirmation, according to the source.
ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since 2017.
Democrats, immigration advocates and local officials decried ICE tactics, including allegations of racial profiling and aggressive tactics.
Scrutiny of ICE intensified after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis in January at the hands of immigration officers.
Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director during the first year of Trump's second term, resigned in May, saying it was to spend more time with his family.
The announcement of Lyons' departure came more than a month after Trump fired former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
-ABC News Luke Barr contributed to this report.
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