Todd Lyons | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Senior Official / ActingDirector of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement | |
| Assumed office November 17, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Madison Sheahan Charles Wall |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Acting March 9, 2025 – November 16, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Madison Sheahan |
| Preceded by | Caleb Vitello (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| Personal details | |
| Education | New England College (BA,MA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Air Force,Special Operations Command Central |
| Years of service | 1993–1999, 2001–2007 (end date unknown) |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Immigration policy of the second Trump administration |
|---|
Targeting of U.S. citizens |
Targeting of immigrants
|
|
Controversies |
Todd M. Lyons is a law enforcement officer serving as the actingdirector of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since March 9, 2025.
Lyons attendedBoston College High School and later graduated fromNew England College with amaster's degree in criminal justice leadership.[1] He served in theUnited States Air Force starting in 1993 and entered law enforcement in 1999 inFlorida.[2] After theSeptember 11 attacks he was recalled to active duty and was deployed overseas, serving as the Antiterrorism/force protection liaison for theSpecial Operations Command Central.
Lyons joined theU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2007 as part of the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) component, initially having the title of immigration enforcement agent.[2][3] He began his service there inDallas, Texas.[2] He served as the Chief of Staff for the ERO Dallas Field Office Director from August 2014 to March 2015 and as an Assistant Field Office Director in ERO Dallas from April 2015 to September 2017.[2]
After working for ICE in Dallas, Lyons began working for the agency inBoston, Massachusetts.[4] He held the title of Field Office Director for ERO in the Boston Field Office, thus overseeing all ERO activities across six states inNew England.[2] In October 2024, he was promoted to the position of acting assistant director of field operations for ICE.[5]
AfterDonald Trump won the2024 presidential election, Lyons was described as a "favorite" to be namedDirector of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, althoughCaleb Vitello was chosen for the role, and in February 2025 became the acting head of ICE ERO for the nation.[5][6] On March 9, 2025, after Vitello was reassigned, Lyons was named the new acting director of ICE.[7]
'We need to get better at treating this like a business, where this mass deportation operation is something like you would see and say, like Amazon trying to get your Prime delivery within 24 hours (...) So trying to figure out how to do that with human beings.'
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons in 2025.
On May 12, 2025, Acting Director Todd Lyons authored a secret memorandum that was later leaked by awhistleblower. ICE officers were told to follow the memo's guidance instead of written training materials. The memo authorized ICE officers to forcibly enter people's homes without ajudge's warrant, stating:
Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied onadministrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that theU.S. Constitution, theImmigration and Nationality Act and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose.[11]
Administrative warrants are generated and signed by ICE agents and are not approved of by eitherfederal district court ormagistrate judges.[12] Historically administrative warrants were used to arrest individuals in public places, and only judicial warrants could authorize ICE agents to enter private residences.[12] The practice described by the memo is likely a violation of theFourth Amendment which requires a warrant issued by a judge to authorize physical intrusion into private residencies.[13] Although addressed to all ICE officers, the memo was only shared with select DHS officials who were directed to verbally brief this policy to ICE officers during training.[12][13] The memo was to be kept confidential under risk of potential firing.[13]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Caleb Vitello Acting | Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting 2025–present | Incumbent |