WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will nominate Lance Schroyer as the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"Lance has over 29 YEARS of Law Enforcement experience in Oklahoma," Trump posted on social media. "The Senate must CONFIRM Lance, IMMEDIATELY — Do not delay."
ICE has operated for years with directors serving in an "acting" capacity. The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed director since early 2017.
Trump has made
cracking down on immigration a top priority since taking office last year, but rights groups say the government's actions violate civil liberties and create an unsafe environment for ethnic minorities in particular.
ICE has been at the heart of Trump's crackdown with its immigration detentions and attempted deportations. ICE agents' fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in January sparked nationwide protests.
At least 50 people have died in U.S. immigration detention since Trump launched his mass deportation campaign, according to a Reuters analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement records.
The death rate has more than doubled since the U.S. president returned to office, reaching about one death for every 1,630 people based on preliminary data through early June.
Trump has justified the crackdown by saying it aims to cut illegal immigration and improve domestic security.
Schroyer is a former Oklahoma State Trooper and U.S. Marine with previous immigration enforcement experience, Trump said.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington and Laila Kearney in New York, editing by Michelle Nichols and Chizu Nomiyama)
