Townhall’s Larry O’Connor sat down with Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons for a wide-ranging conversation on the agency’s work, from supporting Washington, D.C. law enforcement, to carrying out deportation operations in the field and in immigration court. Lyons also weighed in on how immigration law is being enforced under President Trump’s second administration, and even shared his thoughts on whether ICE agents should be wearing masks.
The first topic they discussed was how ICE has viewed President Trump's crackdown on crime in the capital, especially as their agents have begun working side by side with the city's police. Lyons told Townhall, that the city is finally working in tandem with ICE, and notifying them of illegal aliens they encounter.
"We are encountering so many criminal aliens by working with our other federal partners and with the Metropolitan Police Department and the Transit Police Department," Lyons said. "We are actually making a significant difference in helping the President ensure that he's making DC safe again."
Now that the Metropolitan Police Department is notifying us when they encounter these criminal aliens, we're actually able to take them into custody and get them in front of an immigration judge, get them off the streets so they can't reoffend again...This partnership with our federal partners and now with the district police department, we're actually able to make a difference when it comes to criminal aliens conducting crime in the capital.
The Director also addressed the demonization of ICE and its immigration enforcement operations in the mainstream media. He said that ICE knows exactly who they are targeting every time they go out; the only difference is now they are allowed to also detain illegal immigrants who are caught during the operation, who may not have been their target.
What ICE has always been known for is targeted enforcement operations, right? We've always been having them painted as ICE is doing a raid, they're doing a sweep. It's not that. We know exactly who we are going after every time. The difference under this administration and under Secratary Noem's leadership is the fact that when we do go out for one of these targets, if they're with other people that are here illegally, we're not going to turn a blind eye to that again.
Another common trope heard in the media is that due process rights are being ignored. Lyons had plenty to say to that:
You'll hear a lot that people aren't afforded due process, they're being kidnapped off the streets, they're being disappeared, that's the farthest from the truth. You know, we have some cases currently no on our non-detained docket, that people have been fighting their cases over six to seven years...But at the end of the day, end of the road, if you're ordered deported by a judge and you've exhausted all legal means, you have to return to your country.
Lyons added that the real challenge comes from the sheer number of cases funneled into immigration court under past administrations, often for asylum or other claims that didn’t meet legal standards. Once those applications are denied, the individuals receive removal orders and become subject to deportation.
He stressed that "President Trump is just enforcing the laws that are on the books...There is no change" to the actual immigration law. Agents, he said, appreciate that “the whole portfolio of immigration enforcement is open” again, giving them the ability to actually do their jobs. Unlike past administrations, which bent the rules and granted leeway to illegal immigrants rather than ICE officers, Lyons argued that Trump’s leadership has restored enforcement to its intended role.
Larry then asked about ICE agents who have been wearing masks to protect their identities. Lyons said that it had never been a problem until people began to dox his agents.
Up until January, February, of this administration, the very first two months of President Trump's administration you didn't see it. It wasn't until there are some really crazy activists on the left, who just did not like the ICE mission, did not like what Secretary Noem and what President Trump was doing for America, that they started doxing ICE agents.
"I have always advocated the fact that I don't want them to wear it, but I would love our elected leaders to work with us, work with all the federal law enforcement leadership, and come up with a way to hold people accountable who make threats against law enforcement and their families," Lyons said.
He pointed out that most viral videos showing people yelling at ICE agents for identification come from bystanders with no connection to the operation. Generally, the individuals who are directly affected, typically family members, are given a business card and told where their relative is being taken.
Lyons made clear throughout the conversation that ICE’s mission under President Trump’s second administration is straightforward: enforce the laws as written, protect the public from criminal aliens, and restore accountability to the immigration system. Whether it’s working hand in hand with D.C. police, pushing back against media smears, or dealing with activists who target his agents, the Director’s message was the same—ICE isn’t changing the law, it’s finally being allowed to enforce it.