Todd Lyons, the acting head of ICE, was reportedly hospitalized at least twice for stress-related issues while trying to implement President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, according to a report published on Friday.
These incidents, described by current and former officials, occur as ICE faces ongoing pressure to increase arrests and deportations, which are key goals of the administration. Politico reported that Lyons spent at least one night in a Washington hospital in December after his security detail drove him there.
Another incident in September also led to a hospital stay of at least one night, according to officials in the report. One former official stated that the pressure affected Lyons’ decision-making, describing him as “visibly upset and struggling” while managing the job’s demands.
Sources report that Trump’s ICE Director has been hospitalized multiple times due to stress from Stephen Miller:
“Current and former officials said they saw Lyons break out into a full sweat, with his face turning deep red.” pic.twitter.com/vQfoaAsnVx
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) March 27, 2026
The report mentioned that some officials noticed physical signs of stress during enforcement operations, like heavy sweating and his face turning “deep red.” During one summer operation in Los Angeles, a bodyguard retrieved a portable defibrillator as a precaution after Lyons appeared to be in severe distress, according to officials cited in the report.
Lyons pushed back against the notion that pressure from the White House caused these episodes. In a statement quoted in the report, he said, “Any stress is in no way related to pressure from the White House, and nothing will get in the way of me doing my job.”
The White House also denied that top aide Stephen Miller’s management style was to blame, with senior administration officials telling Politico that while Miller is forceful and demanding, he is not abusive.
Still, the report indicated that several officials identified pressure from Miller and other White House staff as a significant source of tension as ICE struggled to meet ambitious enforcement goals.
Reuters has previously reported that Miller set a target of at least 3,000 immigration arrests a day, well above the earlier target of 1,000 arrests per day, as the administration urged ICE to ramp up operations nationwide.
Shame on Politico for publishing such inaccurate trash.
Todd Lyons is an American patriot who has worked tirelessly to undo Biden’s disastrous immigration policies that wreaked havoc on American communities. And the American people are deeply appreciative for his hard work… https://t.co/Z4CVE9wvWo
— Abigail Jackson (@ATJackson47) March 27, 2026
Lyons has been one of the most visible officials in Trump’s second-term immigration campaign. Reuters reported in January that he had been serving as acting ICE director since March 2025, after previously leading the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division.
In that role, he oversaw efforts to arrest and remove migrants living in the country illegally. Reuters also noted that ICE is a large agency with more than 27,400 employees and a budget nearing $10 billion.
His time in office has taken place amid significant legal and political pressure on the agency. Reuters reported in January that Lyons had faced the possibility of an unusual court appearance in Minnesota due to ICE’s failure to comply with court orders linked to a wrongful detention case during Trump’s immigration enforcement push. That wider crackdown had already been tied to fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.
The hospitalization report reflects ongoing strain within an agency that has become central to Trump’s domestic agenda. ICE has expanded operations in major cities and prominent enforcement areas, while administration officials continue to demand faster results.
For Lyons, these expectations now seem to have taken a personal toll as he leads one of the federal government’s most scrutinized agencies.
