Trump Taps Former Oklahoma Trooper as New ICE Director
NYT > U.S. > Politics — 2026-06-27 16:10:00 — www.nytimes.com
Trump Pushes Senate to Confirm ICE Nominee, Makes Claims About Immigration Enforcement
President Trump announced Saturday his nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), urging the Senate to move quickly on the confirmation. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Schroyer would be the first Senate-confirmed leader of ICE since 2017.
Trump wrote, “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.” This statement reflects Trump’s continued focus on aggressive immigration enforcement and his use of charged language to describe undocumented immigrants.
Scrutiny Over Experience and Agency Direction
Schroyer, who is currently a senior adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has not previously worked at ICE and has limited experience managing national immigration policy. Despite this, Trump emphasized Schroyer’s law enforcement background and alignment with his administration’s priorities.
ICE has been at the center of Trump’s efforts to increase deportations nationwide, a push that has drawn significant scrutiny, especially after immigration agents killed two Americans in Minneapolis earlier this year. The agency has operated without a Senate-confirmed director since 2017.
Fact-Checking Trump’s Claims
Trump’s assertion that Schroyer has “firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets” is misleading. While Schroyer has a long law enforcement career, there is no public record of him leading large-scale immigration enforcement operations or managing ICE activities prior to his advisory role under Mullin. The claim exaggerates Schroyer’s direct experience with federal immigration enforcement.
Additionally, Trump’s language—referring to undocumented immigrants as “Illegal Aliens”—is widely criticized as dehumanizing and not used in official government communications.
Conclusion
Trump’s nomination of Lance Schroyer to lead ICE highlights his administration’s ongoing hardline stance on immigration. However, his claims about Schroyer’s experience overstate the nominee’s direct involvement in immigration enforcement. As the Senate considers Schroyer’s confirmation, questions remain about his qualifications and the future direction of ICE under Trump’s leadership.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/27/us/politics/trump-oklahoma-ice-director.html