ICE Acting Director Lyons Resigns as Deportation Drive Meets Backlogs and Local Strain

The official charged with carrying out the largest deportation effort in recent U.S. history is leaving his post at the end of May. Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement since March 2025, will step down on May 31, the Department of Homeland Security announced April 17, 2026, even as removal numbers climb, immigration court backlogs shrink, and millions of pending legal applications leave applicants in limbo. The departure comes amid court challenges, Democratic criticism of enforcement tactics, and documented financial burdens on at least one Chicago suburb that hosted a major processing site.

The central tension is whether accelerated enforcement and judicial reforms can overcome a decade-long immigration system overload without creating new risks or costs. Lyons oversaw more than 475,000 removals and 379,000 arrests in his first year according to DHS figures, sharp increases from the prior year's 271,000 removals and 113,000 arrests. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin credited him with jump-starting an agency "that had not been allowed to do its job for four years" and removing "murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists and gang members." White House officials echoed the praise, calling Lyons "an American patriot who made our country safer."

At the same time, USCIS data reviewed by NPR shows nearly 11.6 million pending applications for citizenship, green cards, work permits and asylum, plus 248,000 in a separate "frontlog" of unopened cases. The backlog grew by roughly 2 million in the first year of the current administration. Immigration attorneys told NPR that delays in even confirming receipt of applications have left clients vulnerable to removal proceedings, with some judges unwilling to halt deportation without proof of a pending filing. One Seattle attorney described clients waiting up to eight months for basic acknowledgment, creating "immediate anxiety" and mental health strain.

On the court side, the administration has moved in the opposite direction. The Executive Office for Immigration Review reduced its backlog by more than 380,000 cases since Inauguration Day, per Justice Department figures. Asylum grant rates have fallen to 7 percent from 50 percent under the prior administration, according to White House statements. More than 100 immigration judges were dismissed and replaced; those let go had granted asylum in 46 percent of cases according to New York Times reporting cited across outlets. Acting EOIR Director Sirce Owen issued memos directing quicker dismissals of asylum claims and warning judges against perceived bias toward immigrants.

Local communities have felt direct effects. In Broadview, Illinois, a village of 7,900 that contains a long-operating federal ICE facility at 1930 Beach Street, last fall's surge in processing triggered protests, tear gas deployments, street barricades and a local state of emergency. Village officials documented $361,536 in unexpected costs through mid-January, including $71,000 in police overtime, $250,000 in ambulance transfers and $41,000 in legal fees to challenge an unpermitted federal fence. That spending erased a projected $334,000 surplus and produced a $94,000 deficit for the fiscal year ending April 30, according to documents obtained via Illinois Freedom of Information Act requests. The proposed new budget leaves room for further overtime and FOIA expenses while banking on uncertain federal reimbursement. Mayor Katrina Thompson called the experience one no community should endure.

Critics focused on tactics. Democratic lawmakers including Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Alex Padilla and Dick Durbin questioned warrantless home entries, restrictions on congressional access to facilities, and a rise in detention deaths. Rep. Dan Goldman compared certain practices to those of authoritarian regimes during a February hearing. Protests in multiple cities, including Minneapolis where two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents, drew accusations of political targeting of Democratic-led areas. Administration officials maintained operations prioritized criminals; separate analyses indicated 58 percent of those processed in the Chicago-area operation had no criminal history while 18 percent had prior convictions.

Lyons, a 20-year ICE veteran who began in Enforcement and Removal Operations in 2007, took over after the White House deemed his predecessor's pace insufficient. His resignation timing coincides with intensified court battles over judge firings and due-process claims. No successor has been named. The broader system remains under strain: even with court reductions, more than 3 million cases remain pending. USCIS officials cited enhanced vetting for national security, including social media checks and in-person visits, as necessary slowdown factors. Immigration restriction advocates argued the backlog proves the need to pause new applications until fraud can be addressed.

Placed side by side, the numbers tell competing stories. Removals and arrests are up sharply. Legal processing times have lengthened. Local budgets absorbed unbudgeted hits. Asylum success rates have collapsed. Whether these outcomes reflect successful recalibration or simply shifted pressure from one part of the system to another remains unresolved.