The White House announced that President Biden will nominate Texas Sheriff, Ed Gonzalez, a critic of former President Trump’s immigration policies, to serve as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Sheriff Gonzalez has a decades long career in law enforcement. He criticized the Trump administration for its stances on border and emergency management issues, at one point he withdrew his department from a controversial ICE program.
The Biden administration has sought to narrow the scope of the agency’s enforcement efforts, choosing to focus resources on immigrants who pose national security, border security, or public safety risks. If confirmed, Gonzalez would be the first politically appointed director in years.
ICE, which is currently led by career official Tae Johnson, never had a Senate- confirmed director during the four years of the Trump administration. During the previous administration, Gonzalez ended a partnership with ICE’s controversial 287(g) program, a collaboration between the federal government, state, and local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
He also criticized family separation, which was the result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy of prosecuting undocumented immigrants, which resulted in the separation of thousands of families. In a statement Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated; “With a distinguished career in law enforcement and public service, Sheriff Gonzalez is well-suited to lead ICE as the agency advances our public safety and homeland security mission. I hope the Senate will swiftly confirm Sheriff Gonzalez to this critical position.”
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