Acting ICE director Todd Lyons to leave agency

Todd Lyons, the acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is planning to leave the agency, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has confirmed.

"Director Lyons has been a great leader of ICE," Mullin said in a statement on Thursday, adding that he has been a "key player" in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Lyons, who oversaw hundreds of thousands of deportations, will step away from the role after 31 May to join the private sector.

He has worked in the federal agency for nearly two decades, and previously served in the US Air Force and as a police officer.