Amid the mounting cases of immigration arrests in the United States, Todd Lyons, the acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, sounded the alarm on his agency further doubling down on the consequences targeting people who may be in the country unlawfully.
The Donald Trump government has repeatedly issued warnings against those committing crimes in America, indicating that such a contentious history could lead to the individual’s legal status being revoked. Reminding even visa and green card holders time and again that they are not above the law, authorities have often weighed in on the “Catch-And-Revoke” policy at the centre of US immigration crackdown.
‘Collateral’ arrests: US immigration chief says anyone found in US illegally will be arrested
At a time like this, Todd Lyons again came forward with fresh reminders related to the issue. In an interview with CBS News, the acting ICE head that officials will nab anyone found in the US illegally regardless of their criminal record (even the lack thereof).
“Our mission is: we detain to remove, we don’t detain punitively,” he said during the interaction. “So people do hear that increase in bed space, but it’s not for long term. There’s no reason for someone to linger in… detention facility after they’ve been lawfully ordered by an immigration judge. We want to ensure they can get back to their home country safely and quietly.”
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
Despite the “limited sources” allocated to the agency, the ICE boss insisted that they focus remains arresting and deporting “the worst of the worst.” He then detailed how the Immigration and Customs Enforcement had “opened up the whole aperture of the immigration portfolio.”
Highlighting that the US authorities have access to the foreign criminal records, Lyons said that if someone is wanted in their home country and is in the US illegally, ICE agents will not only take them into custody, but also other individuals with them in the country unlawfully.
But on top of that too, CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez clarified the case of “collateral arrests,” asking “If your agents encounter anyone who is here illegally, irrespective of whether or not they have a criminal record, that person will be taken into custody?” To which, the acting director of ICE curtly responded, “If they are here in the United States illegally, yes they will.”
Even companies hiring undocumented employees will suffer
Additionally, he vowed to hold companies suspected of hiring unauthorised immigrants as well. “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, these people that came here for a better life,” Lyons continued.
Todd Lyons also went on to address the surge in immigration arrests being linked to the increase in attacks against ICE officers. In a separate interview with Fox News, he asserted that elected officials calling for “open-doxxing” of ICE agents has only further exposed officials to violence.