Security outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters during a Congressional Latino Caucus rally on February 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has named a former Oklahoma state trooper to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Administration, tasked with waging the president’s mass deportation campaign.
Richard “Lance” Schroyer’s June 27 nomination is made public after the decision of the US Supreme Court this has enabled the Trump administration to strip 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians of their legal status, putting them at risk of deportation.
“Lance Schroyer has what it takes to ARREST AND DEPORT illegal alien criminals…” – Trump – he wrote on social media on June 27. “…he LOVES the men and women of ICE.”
He will need to be confirmed by the Senate, and if that happens, he will be the first ICE director confirmed by the Senate in 11 years.
Current acting director member of ICE is David Venturella, a longtime federal immigration official and former vice president of the private prison company GEO, which rakes in billions from federal contracts to detain immigrants in its facilities across the United States.
Former acting ICE director Todd Lyons stepped down in May after the shooting of two U.S. citizens by immigration officials in Minneapolis earlier this year.
New funds worth $70 billion
Schroyer will join the congressional agency recently funded through fiscal year 2029 at $70 billion, not counting the separate funding stream of billions from Republicans included in the president’s signature tax cut and 2025 spending bill.
Schroyer doesn’t have much experience working for the Department of Homeland Security, but he is an adviser to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, who previously served as a U.S. senator from Oklahoma.
Schroyer also worked to establish an Oklahoma law enforcement partnership with the federal government to aid enforce immigration laws under the 287g program. He served in law enforcement for almost 30 years.
Mullin noted Schroyer’s work with the 287g program.
“Lance comes straight from the field, where he conducted large-scale operations and worked with state and federal partners to remove illegal aliens from Oklahoma under the 287g program,” Mullin said in a statement. “With more than 29 years of law enforcement experience, Lance will play a critical role in helping implement the U.S. President’s mandate to select, arrest and deport illegal aliens.”
Praise for Oklahoma
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt also praised the announcement, as well as Schroyer’s career in law enforcement.
“He has been a tremendous asset to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and will continue to make us proud of the work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Stitt said in a statement. “Oklahoma is once again leading the nation. We have consistently supported President Trump’s actions to keep our borders secure and have pursued enforcement actions against people who are here illegally who engage in criminal behavior.”
Schroyer is also the recipient of the Chief’s Award for his work in 2015, when he assisted a woman whose car crashed outside his district, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Tulsa Police Department.
“He found her face down, with her head wedged between the end of the dashboard and the passenger door. She was choking and unable to speak.” according to a press release from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
According to the release, Schroyer called emergency services and stayed with the woman. “To allow her to breathe, he moved the seats in the car and kicked open the stuck door to reposition the woman, allowing her to breathe,” the release said.
For his work, he received the Chief’s Award “in recognition of his commitment to protecting life and serving the community.”
Oklahoma Voice Editor Janelle Stecklein contributed to this report.
