Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to Leave May 31; Former Official Says Lyons’ Family Faced Doxxing and Home Protests

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons has told Department of Homeland Security leadership he will step down at the end of May, and former ICE official Tom Homan said Lyons and his family endured targeted harassment during his tenure.

In an interview with Newsmax, Mr. Homan praised Lyons’ service to the agency while describing the personal toll the job took on Lyons and his family. Homan said, “God bless Todd and his family — his family sacrificed a lot. The left has not only attacked him. They doxed his wife and his kids and protested his home and his family and you know, they deserve a break and I’ll miss him. He’s a friend of mine. I’ll still be friends with him.” Those comments were circulated on social media by conservative commentators following the interview.

Lyons, a career law enforcement official who served as acting director of ICE, announced his resignation earlier in the week and is scheduled to remain in post through May 31 to assist with the transition. A tweet from reporter Bill Melugin stated, “BREAKING: I’m told that Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons submitted his resignation to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin today. He will be staying on until May 31st to help with the transition. He oversaw roughly 584,000 ICE deportations since President Trump’s inauguration, and plans…,” reflecting the administration’s public emphasis on removals during Lyons’ tenure.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed Lyons’ resignation in a statement relayed through media channels and praised Lyons’ record. Mullin said, “Director Lyons has been a great leader of ICE and key player in helping the Trump administration remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members from American communities. He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer.” Mullin added, “We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector. His last day is May 31, 2026.”

Supporters and officials have portrayed Lyons’ departure as the end of a period of aggressive enforcement. Homan told Newsmax that under Lyons’ direction, “ICE achieved a record number of removals in the first year of this Administration, despite unprecedented challenges.” The agency’s enforcement activities have continued at a high volume nationwide, drawing resistance from sanctuary jurisdictions and immigrant-rights activists.

Lyons’ resignation letter and internal communications cited a desire to spend more time with family and to transition into the private sector. Beyond those internal notices, Lyons has not issued extensive public comment elaborating on the departure or on the allegations of harassment directed at his family.

The reports that Lyons’ wife and children were publicly doxxed and that protesters gathered at the family home underscore ongoing tensions around immigration enforcement and the safety of public officials and their families. Advocates on both sides of the debate have highlighted the incident differently: supporters say it demonstrates the personal cost borne by officials carrying out federal immigration policy, while critics of recent enforcement actions have focused on the substance of policy decisions and their impacts on communities.

As Lyons prepares to leave ICE at the end of May, the agency will face the task of managing an orderly transition of leadership while continuing operations amid political and legal challenges. The change in leadership comes at a time when immigration policy remains a central issue for federal authorities and state and local jurisdictions, and when debates over enforcement tactics and accountability continue to shape public discourse. Sources for the reporting include the Newsmax interview with Tom Homan, statements from the Department of Homeland Security, and social media posts from reporters who covered Lyons’ resignation.