Who Is Lance Schroyer? Oklahoma Law Enforcement Veteran Nominated to Lead ICE

Lance Schroyer talked to News 9 during the 2018 teacher walkouts at the Oklahoma State Capitol.(News 9)

OKLAHOMA CITY –President Donald Trump on Saturday nominated Lance Schroyer, an Oklahoma law enforcement veteran and current senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, to serve as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Schroyer would oversee the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement, detention operations, and investigations.

• President Donald Trump nominated Oklahoma law enforcement veteran Lance Schroyer to serve as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• Schroyer served 29 years with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and currently serves as a senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security.
• His career includes service in the U.S. Marine Corps and leadership within the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.
• The nomination now heads to the U.S. Senate for confirmation hearings and a vote.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Schroyer served for 29 years with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.

He later became a major with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, overseeing the Emergency Services Unit. DHS said his experience includes inter-agency coordination, tactical planning, and policy implementation involving constitutional safeguards. He specialized in inter-agency collaboration, complex tactical planning, and constitutional safeguards in policy implementation.

Oklahoma’s Own interviewed Schroyer for a story in 2018 as he helped secure the Oklahoma State Capitol during the teacher walkout.

He currently serves as senior adviser to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, also from Oklahoma. This role involves coordinating immigration enforcement strategy and serving as a liaison among local, regional, and federal law enforcement agencies.

DHS Secretary Mullin praised the nomination in a news release.

“With over 29 years of law enforcement experience, Lance will play a vital role in helping deliver on the President’s mandate from the American people to target, arrest, and deport illegal aliens,” Mullin said.

Mullin also highlighted Schroyer’s work with federal partners under the 287(g) program, which authorizes specially trained state and local officers to perform certain federal immigration enforcement duties under ICE supervision.

Oklahoma entered into a 287(g) agreement with ICE in 2025 as part of Operation Guardian.

U.S. Sen. James Lankford wrote on X that Schroyer’s nearly three decades of law enforcement experience prepared him to enforce immigration laws and help keep communities safe.

The nomination comes after former ICE Director Todd Lyons resigned at the end of May, according to CBS News. David Ventura, a former executive at a private prison, had been serving as the acting head of the agency.

Earlier this year, Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado said he is withdrawing his name from consideration for the position of director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The U.S. Senate will consider Schroyer’s nomination.

Senators are expected to hold confirmation hearings before voting on whether to approve his nomination. A hearing date has not yet been announced.

We used AI tools to help with editing and formatting this story. A human journalist reviewed everything before publication.

Schroyer is an Oklahoma law enforcement veteran who served 29 years with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and now serves as a senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement, detention operations, and homeland security investigations.

The U.S. Senate must hold confirmation hearings and vote before Schroyer can officially become ICE director.