Longtime ICE official David Venturella chosen to head agency
NBC News • • general
Key Points:
- David Venturella, a longtime ICE official and former senior vice president at private prison company GEO Group, has been appointed to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the departure of acting director Todd Lyons.
- Venturella previously directed ICE’s Secure Communities program, which shares digital fingerprints of jail detainees with federal authorities to identify undocumented immigrants; the program was ended under President Obama in 2014 but reinstated by President Trump in 2017.
- Critics, including Rep. Delia Ramirez, have raised concerns about Venturella’s ties to GEO Group and his role in continuing aggressive immigration enforcement policies associated with the Trump administration.
- Recent internal ICE policy changes include instructions for officers to no longer enter homes without judicial warrants, reflecting efforts to reduce controversial tactics amid public protests.
- Todd Lyons, who led ICE during a period marked by high-profile immigration crackdowns and fatal shootings by federal officers, officially left the agency at the end of May.