The U.S. federal government has announced that David Venturella has been selected as the new acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), replacing Todd Lyons.
According to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Venturella will assume the role at the end of this month, when Lyons officially steps down. Lyons led the agency during the mass deportation campaign championed by President Donald Trump.
Who is David Venturella?
This is not Venturella’s first role at ICE. Earlier in his career, he worked in the agency’s detention contract oversight division, according to a public letter from members of Congress published earlier this year.
Venturella also spent years at the Geo Group, a Florida-based international corporation known as the largest private operator of prisons and migrant detention centers. During his tenure there, he held several positions, including executive vice president of corporate development.
