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Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons made a blunt promise to the country: ICE will follow through on the president’s commitment to enforce our immigration laws and remove those who shouldn’t be here. Lyons’ remarks underline a simple conservative principle — the rule of law matters and the government’s first duty is to protect citizens by enforcing existing statutes.
Lyons was elevated into the agency’s top enforcement role as part of a leadership shakeup ordered by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after ICE fell short of aggressive arrest targets earlier this year. The change was portrayed as necessary to restore accountability and muscle to an agency that must be able to carry out bold enforcement when political leadership demands it.
On air, Lyons was candid about what successful enforcement will require: a massive hiring push and substantial resources to rebuild an agency hollowed out in recent years. He told interviewers ICE needs to add thousands of officers and lawyers and noted the administration has secured large funding boosts aimed at detention and removal capacity, signaling this is not rhetoric but a funded mission.
Lyons also stressed ICE’s practical focus — go after the “worst of the worst,” enforce criminal warrants, and pursue worksite operations that target not just illegal laborers but the American companies exploiting them. That kind of no-nonsense, law-enforcement-first posture is exactly what this country needs after years of selective enforcement and political hedging.
He made clear that safe third-country removals and other removal authorities will stay on the table as tools to keep violent offenders and national security threats off our streets. For those worried about soft-handed approaches, Lyons’ message is straightforward: national security and public safety trump open-borders sentiment.
Conservatives should applaud the move to put leadership in place that will execute enforcement rather than play politics, especially after officials were reassigned over lagging deportation numbers earlier this year. Sanctuary policies and bureaucratic delays have made the job harder, and it’s appropriate for leadership to demand results from an agency tasked with protecting the homeland.
Of course left-wing activists and media will thunder about alleged cruelty and “mass deportations,” trying to whip up sympathy for lawbreaking and chaos at the border. Their predictable outrage cannot be allowed to stand in the way of sensible enforcement that defends American communities and holds employers accountable for breaking the law.
If Lyons and Secretary Noem are serious, Congress and state partners must back them with clear legal authorities, sensible arrest cooperation, and resources — not sanctuaries and legal games. Americans deserve secure streets and a border that functions; enforcing the law is the first and most patriotic step toward restoring order and fairness to the immigration system.
