Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pushed back Wednesday on claims the Trump administration has gone soft on mass deportations, telling Newsmax that agents are working aggressively to enforce immigration law after President Donald Trump "took the handcuffs off" the agency.
"No, I can tell you, Rob, that the men and women of ICE are out there every day busting their humps, doing the job they signed up to do," Lyons, who announced his resignation effective May 31, said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
Lyons' comments come amid criticism from some quarters that enforcement efforts have slowed following unrest tied to immigration operations over the past year. He rejected that characterization, saying ICE is now carrying out "interior enforcement the way it should be done."
"We're actually enforcing the Immigration and Nationality Act," Lyons said. "And if you just look at some of the worst of the worst that we've caught lately, these are people you do not want in your neighborhoods, much like these individuals right here."
Schmitt cited recent cases in Virginia involving illegal immigrants accused or convicted of violent crimes, including an 18-year-old Salvadoran national sentenced after groping multiple high school students and a Guatemalan national with a lengthy criminal record accused of attempted rape.
Lyons said such cases underscore the need for cooperation between federal immigration authorities and local officials.
"Until my last day in office, I'm going to make sure that we get the word out to every elected official, every local leader, that to make your community safe, you have to work with ICE," he said.
Looking ahead, Lyons also pointed to the completion of the southern border wall as a crucial step in preventing future surges of illegal immigration. Schmitt referenced comments from former ICE official Tom Homan that the wall could be finished by the end of Trump's term in 2028.
"I do think so," Lyons said when asked if the wall would help secure the border long term. "I think the fact that having that physical barrier to keep people out is a key deterrent."
He added that enforcement depends not only on infrastructure but also on policy changes that allow agents to focus on security.
"The key to this is twofold, to have the Border Patrol out there in full strength, which they have been, enforcing our border laws, and to have that wall along with technology to ensure we have that barrier to keep people out," Lyons said.
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