President Donald Trump withdrew Lance Schroyer’s nomination to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday, leaving the agency without a Senate-confirmed director after Schroyer’s confirmation process failed to advance.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump withdrew Lance Schroyer’s nomination to become director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday, less than three months after selecting the former Oklahoma state trooper and U.S. Marine to lead the federal immigration enforcement agency.
The White House notified the Senate that it was withdrawing Schroyer after his nomination stalled, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin reported Thursday. The White House did not publicly provide a reason for withdrawing the nomination, according to separate reporting Thursday.
The decision leaves Acting ICE Director Dave Venturella in charge of the agency and continues a lengthy period in which ICE has operated without a Senate-confirmed director. The Senate has not confirmed a permanent ICE director in more than a decade.
Trump announced in June that he had chosen Schroyer to lead ICE. Schroyer has more than 29 years of law enforcement experience in Oklahoma, previously served with the Oklahoma State Patrol and was a U.S. Marine. He also served as a senior adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and previously worked on Mullin’s security detail.
The administration had cited Schroyer’s work with local and federal immigration enforcement partnerships when announcing the nomination. Fox News reported in June that Schroyer would replace Venturella if confirmed by the Senate.
Trump strongly endorsed Schroyer when announcing his selection:
“I am very pleased to announce that I have nominated Lance Schroyer to be our next ICE Director. Lance has over 29 YEARS of Law Enforcement experience in Oklahoma — A State where I WON all 77 Counties in 2016, 2020, and 2024!
“Lance is a former Oklahoma State Trooper, and United States Marine. He is a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst, including spearheading 287g Law Enforcement partnerships with ICE!
“Lance has firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets and, just like ME and our Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, he LOVES the men and women of ICE. Importantly, Lance Schroyer has what it takes to DETAIN AND DEPORT Illegal Alien Criminals, including murders, rapists, and drug traffickers at a rate never seen before! Remember, our Administration has the HIGHEST Daily Arrest Rate by ICE and CBP than ANY other President, by far.
“It’s not even close! The Senate must CONFIRM Lance, IMMEDIATELY — Do not delay. Together, we will MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
At the time of the announcement, Homeland Security officials also highlighted Schroyer’s experience working with ICE through the federal 287(g) program, which allows participating state and local law enforcement agencies to perform certain immigration enforcement functions under ICE supervision.
By Thursday, however, Schroyer had not advanced through the Senate confirmation process. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee had not scheduled a confirmation hearing for him, according to reporting on the withdrawal.
Melugin said ICE personnel had previously expressed surprise at Trump’s original selection of Schroyer.
“ICE sources previously told me they were surprised by Schroyer’s initial nomination to lead ICE because he has no experience in immigration enforcement or leading a large law enforcement agency,” Melugin said in reporting on the withdrawal.
Schroyer nevertheless had experience participating in immigration enforcement partnerships in Oklahoma. The Department of Homeland Security previously said he helped lead Oklahoma Highway Patrol cooperation with ICE and later served as a senior adviser to Mullin overseeing immigration enforcement matters and coordination with state and local law enforcement.
His withdrawal marks another unsuccessful attempt to install a Senate-confirmed leader at ICE. Sarah Saldaña, who served during the Obama administration, was the agency’s last Senate-confirmed director. Subsequent administrations have relied on acting leadership as nominations failed to result in Senate confirmation.
Venturella, who had been serving as acting director before Schroyer was selected, remains at the helm following Thursday’s withdrawal.
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