WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday he will nominate Lance Schroyer as the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lance Schroyer, whom U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will nominate as the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, appears in an unknown location, in this handout picture released April 20, 2016. Oklahoma Highway Patrol/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT
Schroyer is a former Oklahoma State Trooper and U.S. Marine with previous immigration enforcement experience, Trump said.
"Lance has over 29 YEARS of Law Enforcement experience in Oklahoma," the president posted on social media. "The Senate must CONFIRM Lance, IMMEDIATELY — Do not delay."
ICE has operated for years with directors serving in an "acting" capacity. The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed director since early 2017.
Trump made cracking down on immigration a top priority since resuming office last year, and ICE has been at the heart of its immigration detentions and attempted deportations.
Rights groups say the government's actions violate civil liberties and create an unsafe environment for ethnic minorities in particular.
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Federal agents detain a person Jan. 21 in Minneapolis, Minn., while surrounded by tear gas used to deter protesters, as immigration enforcement continues after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 during an immigration raid.
Federal immigration agents' killing of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti — one shot and killed by an ICE agent and the other by Border Patrol agents — in Minnesota in January sparked nationwide protests.
At least 50 people died in U.S. immigration detention since Trump launched his mass deportation campaign, according to a Reuters analysis of ICE records.
The death rate more than doubled since the Republican president returned to office, reaching about one death for every 1,630 people based on preliminary data through early June.
Trump justified the crackdown by saying it aims to cut illegal immigration and improve domestic security.
