Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the Trump administration has “opened up the whole aperture of the immigration portfolio,” and accountability isn’t just coming for those who illegally crossed the border. Speaking specifically about the work site enforcement operations, Lyons emphasized that it’s not just individuals working who are being targeted.
“In regards to the work site, like you mentioned. One thing that I'd really like to highlight, especially what kicked off June 6th in L.A., is the fact that when you see ICE doing these work raids, like the marijuana grow farm, you – we are going there with criminal search warrants or criminal arrest warrants. Not only are we focused on those individuals that are, you know, working here illegally, we're focused on these American companies that are actually exploiting these laborers,” he explained. “These people that came here for a better life. You know, either, you know, forced labor, child trafficking, you know, a lot of these work site cases just isn't a victimless crime of someone here working illegally. And that's why we're going there with these criminal warrants to focus on these American businesses that are trying to make an extra dollar on the backs of these people that came here for a better life.”
When immigration and politics reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez sought confirmation that the employers are going to be held accountable, Lyons said “100 percent.”
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons tells @camiloreports that the agency will take people into custody if they are in the U.S. illegally, even if they do not otherwise have a criminal record — something he acknowledges as "collateral arrests." pic.twitter.com/OzyalJUqd5
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 20, 2025
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons says that the increase in immigration arrests is connected to the increase in attacks against ICE officers.
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 20, 2025
"I think because we’re more visible in the community," he tells @camiloreports.
"The immigration mission is one of the forefront of this… pic.twitter.com/Sz75MU0qSs
