Former ICE leader lands new job consulting on national security and defense

Then-acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons testifies during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on February 10, 2026 in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum/Getty Images North America hide caption

Todd Lyons, who led U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during some of the most volatile moments this year, has been hired by a defense contractor to help "on U.S. homeland defense strategy, interagency operations, and international security."

In confirming the move, Navigators Security and Defense told NPR that it does not engage in lobbying activities, and that Lyons cannot engage with the Department of Homeland Security for a year due to federal laws.

It said Lyons is the company's new senior vice president for U.S. homeland security and international affairs.

Lyons did not respond to NPR's multiple requests for comment.

Navigators Security and Defense is a subsidiary of Navigators Global, a lobbying firm with clients including General Motors, the New York Jets, and GEO Group, a private prison contractor running immigration detention centers across the country, including Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, N.J.

"Lyons brings more than three decades of law enforcement leadership and military expertise in support of Navigators Security and Defense clientele," the company said.

Navigators Global has represented NPR and the NPR Network to Congress since 2011.