Acting ICE director Todd Lyons will leave agency within next few months after being hospitalized over stress

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The acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly planning to leave the agency within the next few months, after being hospitalized over stress.

Todd Lyons has told colleagues that he is planning to depart the agency in June, CBS News reported on Thursday, citing two US officials familiar with his plan.

They said Lyons is planning on stepping down from his post to spend more time with his family, including his sons, in Massachusetts.

Newly-appointed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who was confirmed by the Senate last month, later confirmed Lyons' departure to the Daily Mail, saying May 31 will be his last official day.

He wished Lyons 'luck on his next opportunity in the private sector.'

'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,' Mullin said.

'He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer.' 

In a separate statement, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller hailed Lyons as a 'phenomenal patriot and dedicated leader who has been at the center of President Trump's historic efforts to secure our homeland and reverse the Democrats' sinister border invasion.' 

Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is set to retire from his position in June

Lyons has supported President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown efforts

Lyons, an Air Force veteran who was deployed overseas, first joined ICE in 2007 as an agent in Dallas.

He rose to the number two position at the field office, before eventually becoming the field office director of the agency's Boston region - which covers all of New England.

From there, Lyons assumed leadership roles at ICE's headquarters, including as the assistant director for field operations of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations. 

His departure from the agency now comes after he was reportedly hospitalized at least twice for stress.

The first incident came in September, when he was hospitalized for at least one night, three officials previously told Politico.

Then in December, Lyons' security detail drove him to a hospital in Washington DC and he was admitted overnight, one former and two current officials told the outlet. 

In a separate incident in Los Angeles over the summer, Lyons became so distressed when ICE agents couldn't locate a migrant on their target list after a ride-along with top administration officials that one of his body guards took a portable defibrillator from a nearby government office in case he needed medical intervention.

Those that witnessed these incidents described how Lyons would break out in a full sweat and his face would turn bright red.

Lyons has been a vocal supporter of President Trump's deportation efforts

They attributed the source of the attacks to the White House's pressure to ramp up deportations, saying Miller yelled at Lyons during morning phone calls with administration officials. Others, though, denied Miller yelled at Lyons, with one saying the deputy chief of staff was just 'passionate.' 

'He would be visibly upset and struggling to make the decisions that were needed to be made by the director,' one former official told Politico.

Others said Lyons would often take a long time making decisions, forcing his deputies to have to do more of the work. 

In a statement to Politico at the time, Lyons denied the stress he was experiencing was due to White House pressure.

'Since the beginning of this administration, I have worked night and day, all day, every day to undo the harms Joe Biden has caused to the American people,' he said at the time. 

'Any stress is in no way related to pressure from the White House, and nothing will get in the way of me doing my job.'

Lyons has been a vocal supporter of President Trump's deportation efforts, and has defended his agents following the deaths of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Testifying before Congress earlier this year, Lyons said he backs his agents' tactics and accused elected officials and protesters of escalating rhetoric that endangered his officers.

'Let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us: You will fail,' he said.

Lyons has publicly stood behind his officers' tactics and accused elected officials of spreading rhetoric that endangers his agents

But behind the scenes, Lyons pushed for operations to specifically target those with criminal histories, sources familiar with his efforts said.

He also disagreed with former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's efforts to elevate Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and task him with roundups in major cities.

Bovino was eventually relieved from his position following Good and Pretti's deaths, which sparked nationwide protests, as human rights experts argued the agency's actions have created an unsafe environment, particularly for minorities.

Democrats in Congress have since refused to fully fund the Department of Homeland security until the Trump administration agrees to make certain reforms to its immigration crackdown. 

The deaths of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti sparked massive, nationwide protests

The Trump administration has said the crackdown is necessary to improve domestic security and curb illegal immigration.

Despite Lyons' apparent issues with the mass-deportation efforts, he mounted his own massive effort to recruit and hire thousands of additional deportation agents, thanks to $75 million in funds provided by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

He also signed a May 2025 memo authorizing ICE agents to forcibly enter homes without a judicial warrant during certain operations.   

The Daily Mail has reached out to ICE for comment.