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Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to step down from agency

Todd Lyons, acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
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(CNN) — Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons is stepping down from his role later this spring, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Thursday.

Lyons, a veteran of the federal agency, was tasked with overseeing the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan as the acting ICE chief, placing him under immense scrutiny as the agency ramped up arrests last year and on the heels of the shootings of two US citizens by federal agents in January.

In a statement, Mullin called Lyons a “great leader of ICE and key player in helping the Trump administration remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members from American communities.”

Lyons’ last day at ICE is May 31, Mullin said.

Earlier Thursday, Lyons testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee where he fielded questions from lawmakers about the unprecedented number of deaths in ICE custody and future agency plans for detention space, among other issues.

It’s unclear who would step in the role after Lyons departs. ICE has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since the Obama administration.

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Students help relaunch donation drive for Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt

Young or old, we all love to play board and card games! Those games become even more important when you are indoors and don't have the ability to get outside, like patients in a hospital. Austin Pollack shares the story of students in a Nashville family who have helped re-launch the Red Wagon project to collect games for patients at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

- Lelan Statom