The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is stepping down.

Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE since March 2025, submitted his resignation on Thursday, April 16. He will remain in the role until May 31 to help with the transition, according to a statement from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Lyons told DHS in his letter that he is leaving to take a job in the private sector.

His exit comes at one of the most turbulent moments in ICE's history. The agency has faced mounting legal, political, and public pressure over its role in the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign — including the fatal shootings of two American citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Who Is Todd Lyons?

Todd Lyons is a career immigration enforcement officer with nearly two decades at the agency. He joined ICE in 2007 as an agent in Dallas, rose through the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division, and eventually became the field office director in Boston, overseeing ERO activities across six New England states.

Before his law enforcement career, Lyons served in the U.S. Air Force starting in 1993 and was recalled to active duty after September 11, 2001. He served as an antiterrorism liaison for Special Operations Command Central overseas.

When Donald Trump won the 2024 election, Lyons was considered a top candidate for ICE director, but the role initially went to Caleb Vitello. Vitello was reassigned within weeks, and on March 9, 2025, Lyons stepped into the acting director role.

Earlier in his tenure as acting director, Lyons drew attention for comments at the Border Security Expo in April 2025. He said he wanted to transform immigration enforcement into something that runs "like a business" — comparing mass deportation to the way "Amazon" delivers packages. The remark drew heavy criticism from immigrant rights groups.

The Pressure That Built Up

Lyons ran ICE during one of the most aggressive enforcement periods in the agency's history. Under President Trump's second term, ICE has significantly expanded its budget, its manpower, and its operational tempo. Lyons oversaw all of it.

But the expansion came with consequences. Over the past four months, a series of high-profile incidents have put ICE in the middle of lawsuits, congressional hearings, and a national debate over the limits of federal immigration enforcement.

The Minneapolis Shootings

Two killings in Minneapolis put ICE under a microscope. Both victims were U.S. citizens. Neither had a criminal record at the time they were shot.

Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot through the windshield of her car on January 7 by an ICE agent named Jonathan Ross. Her car remains in an FBI warehouse — shrink-wrapped and, according to state officials, never examined. The federal government has refused to cooperate with Minnesota state investigators on the case.

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, was shot and killed by CBP officers on January 24 during protests over Good's death. Pretti had a valid gun permit, no criminal record, and was filming the federal agents when he was pepper-sprayed, tackled by roughly six officers, and then shot. Bystander video reviewed by multiple news organizations appears to show an agent removing Pretti's gun from his holster before he was killed.

Both shootings happened during "Operation Metro Surge," a major ICE deployment to the Twin Cities area that Lyons helped oversee. More than 3,000 arrests were made during the surge, drawing criticism for warrantless arrests, aggressive tactics against protestors, and the detention of U.S. citizens.

The Hospitalization Reports

In March 2026, Politico reported that Lyons had been hospitalized at least twice during the prior seven months for stress-related health issues. The reporting cited two current and two former administration officials.

The operational tempo at ICE during Lyons' tenure was described by colleagues as punishing. Agents were deployed in nonstop surges across major cities. Leadership shakeups happened constantly. Lyons himself replaced a director who had been reassigned. Field office directors in Portland, Denver, and Los Angeles were removed. The DHS secretary was replaced mid-crisis when Kristi Noem was swapped out for Markwayne Mullin.

While Lyons' letter to DHS cited a move to the private sector as his reason for leaving, the hospitalization reports have led to widespread speculation about whether health concerns played a larger role than officials are publicly acknowledging.

The Court Problem

Just weeks before his resignation, a federal judge ordered Lyons to personally appear in court over concerns that ICE was not complying with judicial directives on detainees' rights. That kind of order — requiring a sitting agency director to testify — is highly unusual and signals serious concern from the bench.

On the morning of the day he resigned, Lyons also testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee. Lawmakers questioned him on ICE's budget, its enforcement priorities, and whether it was following court orders. Lyons defended the agency's recent surge, arguing the resources were necessary. But he acknowledged the legal challenges were real.

By that evening, his resignation letter was in Mullin's hands.

How Trump Officials Reacted

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin released a statement praising Lyons shortly after the news broke.

White House border czar Tom Homan said Lyons "served selflessly" and praised his "distinguished law enforcement career." White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called him a "phenomenal patriot and dedicated leader." White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson described Lyons on X as "an American patriot who made our country safer."

None of the official statements mentioned the Minneapolis shootings, the court order, or the reported hospitalizations.

Timeline of the Lyons Era

What Happens Next at ICE

No replacement has been announced. ICE has cycled through multiple acting directors since Trump's second term began in January 2025 and has not had a Senate-confirmed director during that period. Stability at the top has been rare.

The agency Lyons leaves behind is simultaneously more powerful and more embattled than at any point in its recent history. Its budget is larger. Its operational footprint is bigger. But it faces lawsuits from at least one state, a federal judge ordering compliance reviews, congressional oversight that's growing louder, and two families still demanding answers about why their loved ones were shot by federal agents.