Michael Banks announced his resignation on Thursday, the latest leadership change at the Department of Homeland Security.
Banks confirmed his decision in an interview with Fox News, saying "it's just time." "I feel like I got the ship back on course from the least secure disastrous chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen," he added. It is not clear who will replace him.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the decision in a statement, with commissioner Rodney Scott thanking Banks for his service "during one of the most challenging periods for border security."
The development is taking place at the same time ICE goes through a leadership transition. Acting Director Todd Lyons is set to leave this month and will be replaced by David Venturella. Lyons will stay on to help with the transition through May 31 and then accept a job in the private sector.
"Director Lyons has been a great leader of ICE and key player in helping the Trump administration remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists and gang members from American communities," Mullin said in a statement to Fox News. "He jumpstarted an agency that had not been allowed to do its job for four years. Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer."
Several other officials involved in immigration enforcement have left the administration in the past months. In March, Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino announced that he was retiring. Also in March, President Trump fired Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary.
In the last fiscal year, from October 2024 through September 2025, the U.S. deported about 442,000 people, according to Axios. Some of that time period overlapped with President Biden's tenure. That figure was included by ICE in a budget justification report.
Fox News reported that the total number of individuals deported since Trump took office was around 584,000.
However, since the January shootings and the changes in leadership, average daily immigration detentions have declined by about 12 percent, from a high of about 72,000 in January down to about 63,000 in March, CBS News reported.
