President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former police officer from Oklahoma, to lead the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on Thursday. This agency plays a crucial role in Trump’s immigration enforcement strategy, which focuses on mass arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants, as reported by AFP.
The withdrawal was announced without commentary or explanation in a statement from the White House, alongside other updates.
Trump had previously announced Schroyer’s selection at the end of June, following his career in Oklahoma and the appointment of the new Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, in March. The position has been vacant since the departure of interim director Todd Lyons in May.
Typically, the ICE director’s appointment requires Senate approval; however, since 2017, all individuals in this role have served in an acting capacity.
ICE has faced significant criticism for its actions, deemed brutal by many, and has been accused by numerous judges of deliberately violating judicial decisions.
The Department of Homeland Security announced in August that it had achieved a new record of nearly 51,000 arrests of undocumented immigrants, surpassing the previous record of over 50,200 set in July.
