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It may come as a surprise to many, but Tom Homan is not the head of ICE. He is President Trump’s designated “border czar.”
The Acting Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is Todd M. Lyons, who was appointed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in March of 2025. In her announcement, she wrote…
“With President Trump’s support, I am appointing new ICE leadership to deliver results that President Trump and the American people rightfully demand: Todd Lyons will serve as Acting ICE… Todd Lyons is a work horse, strong executor, and an accountable leader who will lead the men and women of ICE to achieve the American people’s mandate to target, arrest and deport illegal aliens.”
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The Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a civilian position working within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and reporting directly to the DHS Secretary.
Prior to his appointment as ICE Director, Mr. Lyons served as the executive associate director of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and was the former Assistant Director of Field Operations for ERO, overseeing all 25 Field Offices and domestic operations across the United States.
The position of ICE Director does require Senate confirmation, but an Acting Director, which does not require Senate confirmation, is allowed. It’s not unusual for ICE Directors to be “Acting” throughout their tenure. For instance, ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed ICE Director since Sarrah Saldana, who was appointed by President Obama in 2014.
Mr. Lyons Background
Director Lyons was born in South Boston, MA, and attended Boston College High School, an all-male Jesuit Catholic high school. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Leadership from New England College.
Mr. Lyons first served his country with the United States Air Force in 1993 with assignments in South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Europe. He retired in 1999 but was called back to active duty after September 11.
He joined ICE in 2007 as an Immigration Enforcement Agent for (ERO) in Dallas, Texas, eventually serving as Assistant Field Office Director in ERO Dallas until 2017. He then moved to the Boston Field Office as Field Office Director, overseeing ERO activities in all six states.
“For decades, and I’ve worked since President Bush, ICE has always been in every major city and state. So it wasn’t like it’s a brand-new thing [under Trump]. We’ve always been doing immigration enforcement. The president tasked us with mass deportations, and we are fulfilling that mandate,” Lyons said.
The Role of ICE
Director Lyons defines the role of ICE as to “arrest and remove illegal aliens and criminals from our communities.”
In addition, ICE’s role is to enhance public safety, secure our national security, and restore integrity to “an immigration system that has been allowed to collapse.”
“ICE exists to enforce America’s longstanding immigration and customs laws. These laws are grounded in common sense, national sovereignty, and simple morality. Our officers and agents enforce them without hesitation and without apology. The men and women of ICE are dedicated, hardworking, and unmatched in their professionalism,” Mr. Lyons said.
His First Year as ICE Director
In ICE’s first year of operation under Director Lyons’ leadership, ICE arrested 329,000 illegals. Among those arrests were more than 7,300 suspected gang members and over 1,400 known or suspected terrorists. ICE has removed more than 475,000 illegals from the U.S.
ICE is also seizing fentanyl, which has been killing 100,000 Americans every year. In 2025, ICE seized more than 2.5 million pounds of narcotics—a 53% increase from the previous year.
ICE also takes the lead on hunting down child traffickers. The Biden Administration “lost” 291,000 Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and gave them over to sex and labor traffickers and unvetted “sponsors”.
Since February 2025, ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have located 145,000 of the UACs lost under the Biden Administration. They have also dismantled more than 2,400 human smuggling operations.
ICE has facilitated President Trump’s “Project Homecoming,” offering illegals the right to self-deport with dignity. It’s been reported that almost 2 million illegals have done so.
Mr. Lyons is also supportive of full transparency for ICE and fully welcomes body cameras to be placed on ICE agents in the field.
Regardless of the successes of the past year, the Left’s hatred for ICE runs deep in our country not only from protesters and rioters in the streets, but from Democrat members of Congress who have called for the defunding and abolishment of ICE.
Their hatred and disdain were on full display at a recent Congressional hearing with Mr. Lyons.
ICE Director Lyons Faces Fierce Opposition
One of the duties of any Trump Administration official is to answer questions before House and Senate Committees.
On Tuesday, February 10, Director Lyons faced harsh and condemning questions from Democrats about ICE at the House Homeland Security Committee Hearing.
Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, warned Director Lyons to stop acting like a “fascist regime or a secret police” by asking people to show proof of citizenship.
Mr. Lyons responded that ICE conducts “targeted intelligence-driven operations, we don’t walk around the streets asking people about their American citizenship. If ICE is conducting an investigation, they’ll ask someone their nationality. To say that the men and women of ICE are gestapos is wrong.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, asked, “People who’ve gone to the streets as allies have been shot and publicly executed. Will you stand with the kids who you’re supposed to protect, or will you side with the killers bringing terror to our streets? Mr. Lyons, will you resign from ICE?”
ICE Director Lyons replied, “No, sir, I won’t.”
Perhaps the most offensive verbal assault came from Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey. She herself is under indictment for assaulting ICE agents outside a detention center in Newark and is facing 17 years in prison if convicted.
She asked Director Lyons, “How do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands? Do you think you’re going to hell?” Lyons refused to “entertain the question.”
During this astonishing assault by members of Congress on ICE Director Lyons and federal immigration law enforcement agents, Mr. Lyons kept his composure and promised…
“Let anyone who thinks they can intimidate us, you will fail. ICE remains committed to the fundamental principles that those who illegally enter our country must be held accountable.”
Dangers Facing ICE Agents
With such radical and dangerous remarks by leftist politicians, it’s not surprising that ICE reports increased attacks in the past year. The alarming statistics include:
- 8,000% increase in death threats on ICE agents and their families.
- 3,300% increase in vehicular attacks on ICE agents
- 1,300% increase in physical assaults on ICE agents
In his recent remarks to Congress, Director Lyons stated, “The anti-ICE rhetoric from public officials, not just in Minnesota but throughout the country, has fomented violence against dedicated American patriots defending our homeland, and this must stop.”
“ICE,” he said, “is currently facing the deadliest operating environment in our agency’s history. ICE personnel, not to mention their families, are under assault like never before in this country.”
ICE Director Lyons revealed, “I know this reality firsthand. My own family has been targeted.”
Let’s Pray for ICE and Director Todd Lyons
“For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.” Isaiah 30:18
- Pray for God’s protection – physical, spiritual, and emotional – for Todd Lyons, his family, and all Border Patrol and ICE agents.
- Pray for an end to illegal immigration in our country. Pray that every community would fully cooperate with ICE law enforcement agents and support their efforts. Pray for an end to “sanctuary” policies in our cities and states so that justice, law, and order may return to the streets of America.
- Pray that God would pour out His virtues of courage, integrity, perseverance, justice, and mercy on Mr. Lyons and everyone involved in immigration enforcement. May He give them all a full measure of His wisdom and knowledge in their pursuit of the law. May they seek God’s will and righteousness in all that they do.
- Pray that Mr. Lyons would not tire in his work and that God would strengthen and encourage him in the face of adversity, hate, and threats. Pray for God to restrain the anger and hatred facing ICE and Border Patrol agents working to uphold the law.
- Pray for Mr. Lyons’s faith to deepen and for him to grow closer to God. If he has not already, pray that he comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus.
For more ways to pray, get IFA’s prayer guide, Praying for Law Enforcement and ICE Agents, here.
Share your prayers for Director Todd Lyons below.
Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren. Photo Credit: Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images.
