Donald ​Trump said on ⁠Saturday ⁠that ​he ‌will ‌nominate ‌Lance Schroyer as ‌the next director of US ​Immigration ⁠and ​Customs ​Enforcement (ICE), succeeding David Venturella, who had been performing the duties of the director.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that Schroyer “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 added that Schroyer is “is a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst” and “firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets”.

Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, said in a statement on X that Schroyer “will play a vital role in helping deliver on the President’s mandate from the American people to target, arrest, and deport illegal aliens”.

He added Schroyer “is coming straight from the operational field where he ran large scale operations and worked alongside state and federal partners to remove illegal aliens from Oklahoma under the 287g program”, referring to a partnership between ICE and state or local law enforcement agencies that delegates federal immigration enforcement authority to local officers.

Both Trump and Mullin called on the Senate to quickly confirm Schroyer. Mullin said that “it has been 11 years” since the Senate confirmed an ICE director.

The agency ‌has been without a Senate-confirmed director since early 2017. Trump has made cracking down on immigration a top priority since taking office last year, but rights groups say the ‌government’s actions violate civil liberties and create an unsafe environment for ethnic minorities in ​particular.

ICE has been at the heart of Trump’s crackdown with its immigration detentions and attempted deportations. ICE agents’ fatal shooting of two ⁠US citizens in Minnesota, Alex Pretti and Renee ​Good, ​in January sparked nationwide ​protests.

Trump has justified the deportation campaign ​by saying ‌it aims ​to ​cut illegal immigration and improve domestic security.

Trump said in his post that 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”.

Reuters contributed reporting