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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 13 May 202613 May 2026<\/p>\n
The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced that David Venturella, a former executive at the private prison company GEO Group, will become the new acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> (ICE).<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the agency, said on Tuesday that Venturella would replace Todd Lyons, who is leaving the government on May 31.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cDave Venturella will serve as acting ICE director following Todd Lyons\u2019 departure,\u201d DHS said in a statement.<\/p>\n ICE has played a key role in the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation campaign, part of a hardline approach to immigration that has restricted both legal and illegal pathways to the US.<\/p>\n But Trump\u2019s efforts to detain and deport foreign nationals have been an economic boon for private contractors<\/a> that service the US immigration enforcement system.<\/p>\n GEO Group, one such company, has seen its stock price rise by 55 percent over the last six months.<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s efforts to expand detention infrastructure have resulted in a series of lucrative contracts for the company, including a $1bn agreement to open a facility in New Jersey\u2019s largest city, Newark.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year was the most successful period for new business wins in our company\u2019s history,\u201d CEO George Zoley said during an earnings call last week.<\/p>\n Venturella, who has worked at ICE under both Democratic and Republican administrations, served as an executive at GEO Group before rejoining ICE last year.<\/p>\n Silky Shah, the executive director of the Detention Watch Network, told The Associated Press news agency that Venturella\u2019s hiring was a \u201cclassic example of the revolving-door phenomena\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cVenturella\u2019s intimate knowledge of ICE will likely yield another spike of ICE detention facility openings,\u201d Shah added.<\/p>\n GEO Group operates more than a dozen federal civil immigration detention centres across the US. Immigration detention centres have been the subject of frequent allegations<\/a> by rights groups of poor conditions<\/a> and widespread rights abuses.<\/p>\n At least 18 deaths have been reported in ICE custody during the first four months of 2026, following a two-decade high of 31 deaths across 2025.<\/p>\n ICE has also been accused of deploying excessive tactics during enforcement operations in public areas.<\/p>\n