Coalition Leaders Back Todd Lyons for ICE Director

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, border security and immigration enforcement coalition leaders RJ Hauman, President of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE); Joe Chatham, Director of Government Relations at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR); Mike Howell, President of the Oversight Project; Rosemary Jenks, Cofounder of the Immigration Accountability Project (IAP); Julie Kirchner, Executive Director of FAIR; Grant Newman, Director of Government Relations at IAP; and Lora Ries, Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center, called for the formal nomination of Todd Lyons as Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“The American people delivered a clear electoral mandate: secure the border and remove deportable aliens en masse. We’ll say it again: mass deportation. Not just arrests. Not selective removals. Criminal aliens and final orders of removal are just the floor — more than two million cases. With ICE’s non-detained docket nearing eight million, there is no excuse for diminishment or delay.

“Thanks to the tireless work of frontline agents and the leadership of President Trump, the border is now secure. The next phase is clear: decisive interior enforcement and overseeing the proper use of a historic investment heading to ICE. That requires steady, principled leadership. Todd Lyons is the right person for the job.

“Already serving in an acting capacity while navigating resource constraints, Lyons has the confidence of ICE agents from coast to coast. During the most immigration enforcement-hostile administration in history, he enforced the law with quiet resolve while others caved to political pressure. Like Joe Edlow and Rodney Scott, Lyons brings field-tested competence and unshakable integrity. Together, they represent more than 70 years of combined federal immigration experience. Now is not the time for on-the-job training.

“ICE realignment is a strong first step. But realignment without execution means nothing. Mass deportation requires proven leadership at the helm as Congress works to provide the beds, boots, and resources ICE needs to do the job.

“Todd Lyons has our full support, and we stand ready to assist in ensuring the agency has what it needs to succeed.”

Tom Homan, President Trump’s former ICE Director and current border czar, also offered a full endorsement of Lyons, telling Axios:

“Todd Lyons was probably the best field director we had. I’ve known him for years. He’s respected by all 25 field office directors across the country. He’s the right guy to be the director.”

Homan emphasized that Lyons did not parachute into leadership. He earned it, starting at the bottom and rising through the ranks. That experience, Homan said, is exactly what frontline agents need now more than ever.

“When they’re out arresting illegal aliens and the press or the ACLU comes after them, they need someone who’s been in their shoes and who will stand with them,” Homan said.