WASHINGTON, D.C. — David Venturella has been chosen to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, replacing Todd Lyons as acting director, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. Lyons, who was never confirmed by the Senate, will serve his last day on May 31.

Venturella has worked at ICE under both Republican and Democratic administrations and rejoined the agency last year after President Donald Trump returned to the White House. He previously served as executive director of ICE's Secure Communities program and worked at the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service. He is considered an ally of White House border czar Tom Homan.

Until 2023, Venturella was a senior vice president of client relations at GEO Group, a private prison company that operates immigration detention centers across the U.S. According to public records, GEO Group has over $1 billion worth of contracts with ICE. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that after retiring from the company, Venturella worked as a consultant advising on new and existing contracts.

U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez objected to the selection. "Let's be clear: his appointment is to ensure Trump's corporate bosses continue profiting from our communities' pain," Ramirez said.

The Secure Communities program, which Venturella once led, deals with people in the country illegally who are in the custody of other law enforcement agencies. Under the program, authorities shared digital fingerprints from everyone booked into jail with federal authorities, who used them to look for people in the country without authorization. President Barack Obama ended the program in 2014; a memo by then-DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said it had alienated immigrant communities from local law enforcement. President Trump signed an executive order to reinstitute the program in 2017.

After Trump retook office, federal officers from ICE carried out immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago and other cities. Describing the agency's approach, Homan said it has "focused on targeted operations that prioritize the arrest of individuals who have committed crimes in addition to being in the U.S. illegally."

In prepared remarks during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005, Venturella said he is the son of an immigrant. "I understand why so many people have risked their lives, leaving their families, homes, and everything they know to come to the United States," he said. "Without strict and fair enforcement of our immigration statutes, our country will remain vulnerable to the threats that arise from individuals who willingly exploit gaps in our immigration system," Venturella said.