People detained are seen at the Desert View Annex at the private prison company GEO Group Adelanto ICE Processing Center detention facility in Adelanto, Calif., in July 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
David Venturella is anticipated to become the next acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, according to confirmation from a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson to NPR on Tuesday.
Venturella’s recent role involved overseeing contracts between ICE and multiple detention facilities. His previous experience includes working for ICE during the Obama and George W. Bush administrations.
Venturella departed the agency in 2012 to join Geo Group, a private prison company that works with the federal government on immigration detention contracts. He spent over a decade at Geo Group. Learn more here.
The New York Times initially reported on his upcoming appointment.
Over the past year, the Trump administration has significantly increased its detention capacity and policies, despite a rise in detention-related deaths reaching the highest number since DHS was established. This follows a notable increase in the number of detainees.
Venturella is set to assume the role on June 1, succeeding the outgoing acting Director Todd Lyons. The transition coincides with new leadership at DHS, including Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who aims to move away from high-profile immigration enforcement operations in urban areas. Nevertheless, the department intends to continue enhancing its detention and deportation capabilities.
Acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons answers questions during a press conference to talk about the month-long immigration enforcement surge in Massachusetts by ICE.
Jesse Costa/WBUR
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Jesse Costa/WBUR
Last year, Democrats from the House Judiciary Committee expressed concerns to White House border czar Tom Homan about Venturella’s return to ICE to oversee contracts, suggesting a potential conflict of interest due to his previous employment with Geo Group. Additionally, they raised issues about Homan’s White House role after serving as a paid consultant for Geo Group.
Venturella is taking charge of an agency with more personnel and financial resources compared to the beginning of President Trump’s second term, despite ongoing funding challenges.
During Todd Lyons’ leadership, ICE spearheaded Trump’s mass deportation agenda, significantly increasing arrests across the nation. Lyons faced pressure to meet the administration’s deportation targets, which included 3,000 daily arrests. Currently, about 1,200 arrests are made daily, as noted by Mullin. Over 570,000 people have been deported, falling short of Trump’s annual target of one million deportations.
Lyons also managed a substantial hiring increase, bringing in 12,000 new employees. The agency is preparing to swiftly utilize the remaining funds from the $75 billion allocated by congressional Republicans last summer, about half of which is intended for expanding detention facilities.
Despite Congress resolving the longest agency shutdown in U.S. history and agreeing to fund the rest of DHS, ICE and Border Patrol were excluded from regular appropriations. Republicans are considering using a partisan process known as reconciliation to fund DHS, including ICE, for the rest of Trump’s term without needing Democratic support.
