Who on earth is Lance Schroyer? It’s a question on the lips of many political observers in the United States following President Donald Trump’s announcement that Schroyer will be his nominee as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The agency — which has frequently been in the national spotlight as it has led the crackdown on illegal immigration that was a centrepiece of Trump’s 2024 campaign — has been without a permanent, Senate-confirmed leader since 2017, when Barack Obama’s head of ICE, Sarah Saldaña, left office. Trump never got anyone confirmed to the job in his first term, nor did Joe Biden. Instead, a parade of 13 acting directors has led the agency over the past nine years.

If that seems like a long time for an important agency to have its top job sit vacant, that’s because it is. Understandably, the job went unfilled during Biden’s term: the policy of that administration was essentially one of open borders, and few Democrats would want the job of standing in the way of that. Biden wanted ICE to process illegal immigrants’ asylum claims — real or invented — and to speed them on their way, with no bold leadership required.

Trump, however, clearly has a different agenda, and ICE became the most prominent part of his administration for a time last winter as its officers surged into several American cities to capture and deport illegal migrants there while battling the crowds of protesters — peaceful and not-so-peaceful — who gathered to oppose them. This was an administrative agency in need of a firm hand, but it had none. “Border Czar” Tom Homan, one of the 13 former acting directors, finally had to take charge of the effort.

So why was there no one nominated to lead ICE until now? It is, perhaps, a symptom of a larger problem across the administration: many people who would be leading candidates for the job do not want to work there. The President is increasingly unpopular and facing a midterm rebuke in November. Candidates with better national reputations may not want to board a sinking ship.

ICE is an especially hot assignment, since the near-riots in Minnesota that led to the deaths of protesters Renée Good and Alex Pretti. But even beyond ICE, there is a steady diminution of the calibre of candidates Trump has been able to put forward for vacancies.

This is not a criticism of Schroyer, only a recognition that he is a fairly obscure figure for such an important job. He may yet be good at it. According to his Wikipedia page — which was created two days ago — Schroyer has a career in law enforcement spanning more than 30 years. That sets him apart from most people in the country, but Trump could also have found a cop with that much experience in nearly any city or county in the nation.

Schroyer’s confirmation hearings will answer many of the questions about him, and the Senate may even confirm him. But the larger question for the Trump administration is this: does anyone want to work at ICE?