Two of President Donald Trump’s top immigration strategists were reportedly “blindsided” by his decision to nominate a former Oklahoma state trooper to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, often credited with being the architect of Trump’s immigration agenda, and Border Czar Tom Homan were both surprised by the president’s decision to elevate Lance Schroyer for ICE director, the Daily Beast’s Substack “PunchUp,” reported Monday.
Unnamed sources told “PunchUp” that Schroyer, who once served as Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s security detail, was tapped for the position because Mullin recommended him – indicating Miller and Homan were being boxed out.
“Everyone was blindsided by the selection, including Homan and Miller,” the source told “PunchUp.”
A spokesperson for the White House called the report “total fake news” and said Miller was not only aware of Trump’s decision to tap the new ICE director but “involved in the process and very supportive.”
“President Trump has full faith and confidence in both Tom Homan and Stephen Miller, as evidenced by the fact that Stephen Miller was sent out on multiple media channels this week to celebrate the Administration’s massive immigration wins at the Supreme Court,” the White House said.
“President Trump’s entire law and order team — including Stephen and Tom — all work closely together to implement the President’s agenda, enforce the law, and deport illegal aliens,” the spokesperson added.
If confirmed, Schroyer would become the first Senate-confirmed person to lead ICE since 2017. The agency has been functioning with temporary leaders for nearly 10 years. For the last month, David Venturella has been serving as acting director.
Mullin championed Schroyer’s nomination, though, saying he was chosen after a two-month-long nationwide search.
“Lance is the right person for the job. He’s going to bring in professionalism; he’s going to bring in structure; he’s going to put in our standard operating procedures and he’s also going to be able to do it,” Mullin said.
Though Schroyer is a Marine veteran with 29 years of law enforcement experience, he appears to lack formal immigration enforcement experience, aside from serving as a senior adviser to Mullin recently.
Three unnamed sources told “PunchUp” that people inside ICE were unhappy with Trump’s decision to tap Schroyer due to his lack of experience.
“No experience. He was a trooper. But that’s it. Never a boss. Never a leader. Never had to manage a budget. Now he has $78 billion. Now he has 32,000 employees,” a senior ICE source said.
One administration official told “PunchUp” that the response from ICE officers has been “very bad,” with some officers threatening to quit.
ICE serves as a vital agency in supporting Trump’s mass deportation agenda – one of the president’s key political policies that helped him get elected.
The agency is responsible for rounding up and detaining undocumented immigrants. Last year, Congress allocated ICE $11 billion, but the agency has access to billions more in additional funding over the next four years, making it one of the most well-funded government agencies.
The agency has faced intense scrutiny from immigration advocates, Democratic lawmakers and other critics who have accused officers of abusing their authority while conducting immigration sweeps. The Trump administration has also been accused of allowing ICE to use racial profiling to target immigrants and covering up allegations of abuse.
