David Venturella to serve as acting ICE director

By Priscilla Alvarez, Aleena Fayaz, CNN

(CNN) — Longtime immigration official David Venturella is expected to serve as the next acting ICE director, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.

The former private prison firm executive will assume leadership of the agency as the Trump administration tries to take a different approach to its immigration crackdown following a turbulent year. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said he wants agents to take a “quiet” approach while remaining aggressive on arrests.

Venturella will take over the role from acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement head Todd Lyons, whose last day is set for May 31. The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since the Obama administration.

Lyons, a veteran of the federal agency who was tasked with overseeing the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan, faced immense scrutiny as the agency ramped up arrests last year and on the heels of the shootings of two US citizens by federal agents in January.

The New York Times first reported on Venturella’s expected elevation.

Venturella has worked at the agency on and off for more than two decades. He departed in 2012 to join the Geo Group, a private prison company and one of ICE’s biggest detention contractors, before returning to the agency last year.

Some Democrats pointed to his return to the agency last year when raising concerns about the relationship between ICE and private prison companies as President Donald Trump has expanded their use to hold undocumented immigrants.

Venturella’s promotion to lead the agency will also likely encounter criticism stemming from those concerns.

This story has been updated with additional details.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.