Todd Lyons to step down as ICE chief in Washington, D.C.

Todd Lyons, the South Boston native who rose from the chief of immigration enforcement in ICE's Boston office to the top of the agency under President Trump, is stepping down to join the private sector.

Lyons has been at the center of the nation's controversial crackdown on immigrants in cities around the country since being made the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March of 2025. He had not been made the permanent chief.

On Thursday night, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed Lyons is leaving ICE. In a statement, he said Lyons "has been a great leader of ICE" and stated, without providing evidence, that Lyons "jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for years." It said Lyons plans to join the private sector and his last day with ICE will be May 31.

The news follows a period in which ICE has arrested thousands of people in New England and across the country. Data shows that many of them have not been the "worst of the worst," as promised by the Trump administration, but rather many were people facing only civil immigration violations with no pending criminal charges or convictions.

Lyons has consistently defended Trump's mass deportation effort, and the agency on his watch has criticized Massachusetts political leaders for calling for greater transparency and restraint from ICE.

Gov. Maura Healey and state lawmakers are working to pass a bill to restrict ICE from making warrantless arrests in courthouses and other public places.

This is a developing story. It will be updated