The Trump administration plans to install David Venturella, a longtime immigration official who spent years at one of the country’s biggest private prison companies, as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Venturella will assume the role on June 1, when the current acting director, Todd Lyons, steps down, Department of Homeland Security officials said.
The change keeps the agency’s leadership in familiar hands while signaling a shift to lower-profile operations.
Venturella built most of his career inside immigration enforcement. He started in the old Immigration and Naturalization Service in the 1980s and rose through the ranks at ICE after its creation.
He left in 2012 to join GEO Group, a major contractor that runs immigration detention centers for the government. He worked there for more than a decade before returning to ICE last year as a senior adviser.
His selection fits the approach of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who wants a steady, low-key leader at the head of the agency with the largest law enforcement budget in the country.
Mullin has pushed to avoid the kind of high-visibility raids that grabbed headlines earlier in the administration.
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Lyons announced his departure last month, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. In his resignation letter, he wrote that his sons were at important points in their lives and that he and his wife planned to be more present. He described the decision as difficult but necessary.
During his time in charge, Lyons oversaw a sharp buildup at ICE. The agency grew in size and funding after Congress passed the major spending package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
ICE officers carried out enforcement actions in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis as the administration worked to deliver on Trump’s campaign promises for stronger interior enforcement.
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ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since early 2017. Acting leaders have run the agency through both Republican and Democratic administrations.
It remains unclear whether Venturella will receive a formal nomination for the permanent job or will simply remain in the acting role.
Critics on social media have already raised questions about Venturella’s time at GEO Group. The company holds large contracts to house immigrants in detention, and his return to government work has drawn attention to the close ties between ICE and its private contractors.
Supporters point to his deep experience and say he knows how to run detention and removal operations proficiently.
Venturella has helped manage detention contracts since rejoining the government. Under the current push for more deportations, GEO Group and other contractors have seen increased business.
The change in leadership comes as ICE carries out large-scale removal efforts. The agency now has more funding and capacity than at any time in its history, but it also confronts ongoing lawsuits, congressional scrutiny, and questions about conditions in its detention facilities.
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Administration officials say their focus remains on public safety and on enforcing existing immigration laws.
People familiar with the decision said Venturella is expected to keep operations running without seeking the spotlight.
For an agency that has operated for years under temporary leadership, the latest transition is more evolution than revolution.
However, with billions of dollars at stake and immigration still a central political issue, who sits in the director’s chair matters.
