Donald Trump's acting ICE chief, Todd Lyons, was reportedly hospitalised at least twice over the past seven months as pressure mounted inside the administration's hardline immigration crackdown, according to current and former officials cited in new reporting from Washington.
The claims, which centre on Lyons' handling of deportation targets and internal White House pressure, have raised fresh questions about how aggressively Trump's second-term immigration agenda is being driven behind closed doors.
Lyons took over Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a reshuffle early in Trump's second term, inheriting an agency under enormous political and operational strain. ICE has been tasked with helping deliver one of the administration's most ambitious and controversial promises: ramping up removals to 3,000 immigrants a day.
So far, according to figures cited in the report, the agency has been averaging closer to 1,100 arrests daily.
That gap appears to matter. A lot.
According to Politico, Lyons was admitted to a hospital overnight in Washington in December after his security detail drove him there. Officials also said he was hospitalised for at least one night in September during another stress-related episode. In a separate summer incident in Los Angeles, Lyons reportedly became so distressed during an enforcement outing that a bodyguard fetched a portable defibrillator from a nearby government office in case he needed emergency help.
The details are striking, not least because they paint a picture of a man trying to lead one of the most politically combustible agencies in Washington while seemingly buckling under the weight of it.
Todd Lyons And The Pressure Inside Trump's ICE Operation
Several officials quoted in the report said the pressure was coming not simply from the job itself. It's from the White House, particularly Trump adviser Stephen Miller, the architect of much of the administration's immigration policy.
Four people familiar with internal calls said Miller regularly pressed Lyons during morning briefings over deportation numbers, tactics, and operational decisions. Some described those exchanges as outright yelling. Others disputed that characterisation, saying Miller was merely forceful, 'passionate' or asking 'very pointed questions in a very assertive tone'.
That distinction may be politically useful, but it is also slightly beside the point.
What matters is how those around Lyons say he reacted.
'He would be visibly upset and struggling to make the decisions that were needed to be made by the director,' one former official said, in a quote that cuts through the bureaucratic fog better than any official statement. One current official and two former officials also told Politico that Lyons was often slow to make decisions, forcing deputies to shoulder more of the burden.
Lyons, for his part, pushed back on the suggestion that the White House was to blame. In a statement, he said, 'Since the beginning of this administration, I have worked night and day, all day, every day to undo the harms Joe Biden has caused to the American people.' He added, 'Any stress is in no way related to pressure from the White House, and nothing will get in the way of me doing my job.'
Notably, he did not address the reported hospitalisations directly.
What Todd Lyons Inherited
Lyons now oversees an agency with nearly 28,000 employees and a budget running into the tens of billions. Yet more money has not necessarily translated into smoother operations. ICE has faced fierce criticism this year over enforcement tactics and several high-profile incidents, including fatal shootings involving federal officers that are now under investigation.
Democratic lawmakers have also turned up the heat. During a February hearing, Representative Eric Swalwell delivered a blistering attack on Lyons' tenure, accusing ICE under his watch of causing chaos and harm. Lyons responded by defending the agency's methods and insisting officers would not be intimidated.
'Let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us. You will fail,' he said.
Inside the administration, though, the pressure appears to be coming from both directions. Lyons is being asked to produce tougher results, faster, while leading an agency that has become a lightning rod for legal, political and moral scrutiny.
One official reportedly said the daily calls resembled 'a heated business meeting', while another acknowledged that 'a lot of pressure' had been placed on immigration officials to carry out Trump's agenda.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
© Copyright IBTimes 2025. All rights reserved.
