A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The White House has withdrawn its nominee to lead the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement less than three months after President Trump picked him. Here's NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán.
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN, BYLINE: Lance Schroyer's nomination came at a moment of change. He was a close ally of the new Homeland Security secretary, Markwayne Mullin, but Schroyer had no experience in immigration enforcement. That's something critics brought up often. He does have a law enforcement background. Most recently, he served as a major at the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
It's unclear why the Trump administration is withdrawing his nomination. The White House did not respond to NPR's request for comment. Trump has described Schroyer as a, quote, "patriot" and says he has decades of experience locking up the worst of the worst. The last time the Senate confirmed a director for ICE was during the Obama administration.
This is the latest setback at the Department of Homeland Security, which has shed some of its top leadership this year. Secretary Mullin has tried to distance himself from controversies preceding him, like the aggressive, sometimes deadly immigration enforcement operations in Chicago and Minneapolis. Under his watch, ICE arrests have reached a record monthly high, in part because of partnerships with local law enforcement.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR News, Austin, Texas.
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