White House withdraws Lance Schroyer’s nomination to lead ICE

The ex-Oklahoma state trooper’s nomination had stalled in the Senate as ICE faced growing scrutiny over its operations.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is seen in Park Ridge, Illinois [File: Erin Hooley/AP]

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of former Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer to lead United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), without giving a reason for the decision.

The withdrawal was announced on Thursday. Schroyer, a senior adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, was nominated by President Donald Trump in June but had yet to receive a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

list 1 of 1 Calls grow for investigation after ICE attacks protesters

Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who chairs the committee, had refused to hold a hearing until the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided information he had requested about civilian deaths during ICE enforcement operations .

“I don’t have a concern with who the nominee was. I had asked them to give me an update on the internal investigation into civilian deaths,” Paul told The Associated Press news agency.

Paul said he had intended to hold a hearing on Schroyer’s nomination but learned that it had been withdrawn when the White House made the decision public.

ICE remains under scrutiny

Schroyer had little experience in immigration and had not previously worked at ICE or led a major law enforcement agency. Two US officials told the Reuters news agency when he was nominated that he had been a surprise choice for the position.

When announcing Schroyer’s nomination in June, Trump said on Truth Social that he had “firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets” and called on the Senate to confirm him “IMMEDIATELY”.

The withdrawal comes as ICE remains under scrutiny over its enforcement operations as the Trump administration carries out its immigration crackdown.

Critics have raised questions about how the agency has recruited and trained officers as it rapidly expanded its workforce. Federal immigration officers have also shot and killed multiple people during enforcement operations, including two US citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.

ICE arrests have continued to increase, reaching nearly 51,000 in August, the highest monthly total of Trump’s second administration.

ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since 2017. David Venturella is serving as acting director after Todd Lyons resigned earlier this year.

The White House has not indicated when it might announce another nominee to lead the agency.

由于美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）的运作面临越来越严格的审查，这位前俄克拉荷马州警官的提名在参议院陷入停滞。

一名美国移民和海关执法局特工在伊利诺伊州帕克里奇执勤。[图片来源：Erin Hooley/AP]

白宫撤回了对前俄克拉荷马州警官兰斯·施罗耶担任美国移民和海关执法局（ICE）局长的提名，但没有给出撤回理由。

撤回提名的消息于周四宣布。施罗耶是国土安全部长马克韦恩·穆林的资深顾问，由唐纳德·特朗普总统于6月提名，但尚未在参议院国土安全和政府事务委员会举行听证会。

（共 1 条）移民执法局袭击抗议者后，要求调查的呼声日益高涨

肯塔基州共和党参议员兰德·保罗是该委员会的主席，他拒绝举行听证会，直到国土安全部 (DHS) 提供他所要求的有关美国移民及海关执法局 (ICE) 执法行动中平民死亡的信息。

“我并不关心提名人是谁。我只是要求他们向我汇报对平民死亡事件的内部调查进展情况，”保罗告诉美联社。

保罗表示，他原本打算就施罗耶的提名举行听证会，但后来得知白宫公开宣布撤回提名后，听证会就此取消。

美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）仍处于审查之中。

施罗耶在移民领域经验不足，此前也未曾在美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）工作过，更没有领导过任何大型执法机构。两名美国官员在施罗耶被提名时告诉路透社，他被选中担任这一职务令人意外。

特朗普在 6 月份宣布提名施罗耶时，在 Truth Social 上表示，他“亲身经历过将非法移民从我们的街道上清除出去”，并呼吁参议院“立即”确认他的提名。

此次撤回正值美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）因其执法行动而受到密切关注之际，因为特朗普政府正在推行其移民打击行动。

批评人士对该机构在迅速扩充人员队伍的过程中如何招募和培训官员提出了质疑。联邦移民官员在执法行动中也曾多次枪杀他人，其中包括今年早些时候在明尼阿波利斯枪杀的两名美国公民。

美国移民及海关执法局 (ICE) 的逮捕人数持续增加，8 月份达到近 51,000 人，这是特朗普第二任期内最高的月度逮捕总数。

自 2017 年以来，美国移民及海关执法局 (ICE) 一直没有经参议院确认的局长。今年早些时候，托德·莱昂斯辞职后，戴维·文图雷拉担任代理局长。

白宫尚未表明何时会宣布另一位领导该机构的提名人选。