ICE Rank-and-File Tell Trump: We Don't Want Your Pick to Run the Agency

Since Politico first reported the internal DHS backlash against Lance Schroyer this past weekend, the story has spread across outlets from The Independent to The Daily Beast, and it's landed on top of a Senate nomination that has now been stalled for weeks.

Trump named Schroyer, a former Oklahoma Highway Patrol major, as his pick to permanently run Immigration and Customs Enforcement back in June. The pick surprised people inside and outside the agency, according to Politico's reporting, cited by The Independent, The Daily Beast and MEAWW News. Schroyer currently works as a senior adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and the two became close after Schroyer ran security at Mullin's Oklahoma home while Mullin was in the Senate, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Six unidentified DHS officials told Politico they don't want Schroyer anywhere near the top job. "We don't want [Schroyer]. We don't need him. Leave us alone. We are running better than ever," one official said. "People need to stop telling us how to do what we do best." The preferred candidate, according to those officials, is Dave Venturella, the current acting ICE director and an ally of border czar Tom Homan.

Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, told Politico that Schroyer's résumé is the problem: no record on deportations, no operational immigration enforcement background. "If the whole point was to have someone with no immigration enforcement background either ideologically, politically or operationally as secretary, then it's kind of odd to have a similar person as the head of ICE," Howell said. One official was blunter about Mullin's role in the pick, telling Politico it "shows how out of touch Mullin is" and calling it "not even JV level for literally the most important job in the admin that remains unfilled."

The Senate holdup has nothing to do with the internal grumbling

The nomination isn't stalled because of the internal revolt. It's stalled because Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, is refusing to schedule a confirmation hearing until the administration hands over information about the January killings of two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in ICE-involved shootings in Minneapolis. That's according to the Wall Street Journal, cited by The Independent and MEAWW News. Paul wants those investigative details before he'll move Schroyer forward.

DHS and the White House are standing by their guy regardless of the internal noise. A DHS spokesperson told The Independent that Mullin and the department "stand firmly behind President Trump's nominee, Lance Schroyer, and look forward to him bringing nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience to lead the men and women of ICE." A White House official added that "congressional scheduling should not be interpreted as any personnel announcements," meaning Schroyer remains the nominee no matter how long Paul sits on it.

Politico's report, relayed across these outlets, suggests the White House isn't exactly rushing to unstick things either. One official told Politico that "people can have personal relationships with Dave [Venturella] or whoever, but ultimately, it's who the president wants in that position." That comment reads as much like a warning to the rank-and-file as a defense of Schroyer.

A pattern with Mullin, not just Schroyer

This isn't the only rough patch for Mullin lately. According to a separate Wall Street Journal report, Mullin has drawn frustration from Trump allies over a string of perceived missteps: on-message concerns after CNN remarks about Haitian immigrants' legal status following a Supreme Court ruling, a push to delay Fourth of July fireworks over lightning that Trump publicly needled him about, and a temporary halt to ICE vehicle check-in stops in July that Trump reportedly reversed within a day after learning about it from a Truth Social post rather than from Mullin directly. None of those episodes are proven to be connected to the Schroyer fight, but they add context for why some officials describe Mullin, not just his ICE pick, as increasingly isolated within the administration.

No one has held the confirmed director's job at ICE since 2014. Every director for the past 12 years, across two administrations, has served only in an acting capacity. Schroyer's confirmation hearing remains unscheduled, and until Paul gets what he's asking for on the Minneapolis shootings, that streak isn't ending anytime soon.