Sarah R. Saldana | |
---|---|
Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement | |
In office December 23, 2014 –January 20, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Thomas S. Winkowski (acting) |
Succeeded by | Daniel Ragsdale (acting) |
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas | |
In office September 29,2011 –December 22,2014 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Personal details | |
Born | 1951 (age 72–73) Corpus Christi,Texas,U.S. |
Education | Del Mar College (AS) Texas A&I University (BS) Southern Methodist University,(JD) |
Sarah Ruth Saldana is an American attorney who served as the fourth director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from December 23,2014, [1] until January 20,2017,under President Barack Obama. She was the first Latina [1] and the second woman (after Julie Myers [2] ) to hold the position of ICE director. Previously she had served as Assistant U.S. Attorney,then U.S. Attorney,for the Northern District of Texas. [3]
Saldaña was born in 1951 in Corpus Christi,Texas, [4] as the youngest of seven children. [5] Her father Luis was a plumber and her mother,Inez Garcia Saldaña,was a nurse. [5] She graduated from W.B. Ray High School in 1970 and attended and got al associate degree from Del Mar Junior College. [5] She graduated from Texas A&I University summa cum laude in August 1973. [3] [4] [5] After teaching eighth grade language arts in Dallas,she began working in June 1974 for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a technician,then in 1975 she became a management intern for the Department of Housing and Urban Development,returning to the EEOC as an investigator later in 1975. [4] From 1976 to 1981,Saldaña worked for the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. [4]
She earned a JD from Southern Methodist University in May 1984. [3] [5] [4] She was admitted to the Texas Bar in November 1984. [4]
After graduation from law school,Saldaña clerked for U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders in 1984–1985,then entered private law practice from 1985–1987 with the law firm of Haynes and Boone,working in communications law and employment law. [4] She then moved to the large law firm Baker Botts for 11 years as a trial attorney,first as an associate,then from 1994-1998 as a partner. [5] She was an unsuccessful candidate for a judgeship in 2002. [5]
Saldaña started as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2004, [4] prosecuting fraud and corruption cases, [5] eventually becoming Deputy Criminal Chief in charge of the Northern District's Major Fraud and Public Corruption section. [3] One major bribery and extortion case prosecuted by her office concerning affordable housing contracts was described by a major Dallas newspaper as “the largest in Dallas history”;as one result,Dallas city council member and Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill was convicted and sentenced to 18 years. [6]
In 2011,the Hispanic National Bar Association named Saldaña as the Latina Attorney of the Year. [7]
Saldaña in 2011 became U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. [3] Cases she prosecuted included bank and mortgage fraud,civil rights,human trafficking,and public corruption.
Saldaña was nominated as Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement by President Barack Obama in September 2014. After being approved unanimously by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,the Obama administration announced actions to shield immigrants from deportation,and the subsequent vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee on her nomination was 10–8,with all Republicans voting against. [8] She was confirmed 55–39 on December 16,2014, [9] and sworn in on December 23,2014. [10]
During Saldaña's tenure,ICE had a budget of approximately $6 billion and had nearly 20,000 employees in 400 offices in all 50 states,the District of Columbia,and 48 countries outside the United States. [3]
During Saldaña's years as ICE director,employee morale at ICE,which had been in decline since 2009,underwent a strong surge. Then-Acting Deputy Secretary Russell C. Deyo praised Saldaña's law enforcement leadership and employee engagement efforts at her retirement ceremony on January 11,2017,noting that ICE's global employee satisfaction score had risen 11%. [1] A subsequent think-tank study used the employee morale scores calculated on 14 criteria by the Partnership for Public Service's Best Places to Work in the Federal Government,noting that scores at ICE during Saldaña's leadership increased by 20 points in almost all categories from May 2015 to May 2017. [11]
Saldaña was criticized from the political left for treating noncriminal refugees too harshly and from the political right for allowing immigrant criminals back on the street. [12] Her answer to critics was that she was required to follow the laws and the decisions of courts,and she defended the removal prioritization of public safety and national security threats,multiple offenders,and recent border crossers. [13] [14]
In her first Congressional testimony as director of ICE on April 14,2015, [15] Saldaña defended ICE's enforcement priorities,promised to convince states and cities to cooperate with ICE,and was questioned regarding ICE's detention of Central American families fleeing violence there. [13] Saldaña noted the end of the Secure Communities program and its replacement with the Priority Enforcement Program. ICE's family detention policies were criticized by almost all Democratic members. [13] Saldaña asked for more funding for judges and legal representation for children. [13]
In Congressional testimony in September 2016,Saldaña defended ICE's use of private detention companies to hold those awaiting removal on practical grounds,saying ICE had no practical alternative in order to provide facilities for holding up to 34,000 people,as required by Congress. [16]
Her tenure ended with the change of Presidential administrations on January 20,2017. She was succeeded on an acting basis by her deputy,Daniel Ragsdale,a career member of the Senior Executive Service.
In June 2018,Saldaña,then retired and living in Dallas,Texas,spoke out publicly against Trump administration “zero-tolerance”immigration policies. “Every dollar we spend in criminally pursuing an immigrant mother,or father or infant,”Saldaña said,“is money taken away from [pursuing] drug cartels,financial crime or cyber hacking. Stuff that impacts the American public much more than an immigrant working on your front lawn.” [17] She wrote an OpEd in Time magazine to the same effect. [18]
On February 28,2020,Saldaña and Matthew D. Orwig,who like Saldaña also served as a U.S. Attorney in Texas,in his case appointed by President George W. Bush,wrote an OpEd in the Dallas Morning News on the importance of protecting the independence of the Department of Justice. [19]
On April 27,2021,Saldaña gave an interview to the CBS News Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate calling for Congress to pass immigration reform,saying “the system is overwhelmed”and “legislation is the best fix,not a temporary Band Aid here and there”. [20] To critics at both ends of the immigration debate she said “the wish was to keep us a nation onto our own,an island onto our own. As I say,that is just not realistic. On the other side,we have individuals advocate for the immigrant population who say,just let everybody in,that is not going to happen. It would be illegal to allow that happen.” [20] She called for additional resources for ICE to work with church and community organizations.
Among Saldaña's awards and recognitions are the 2017 Dallas Women Lawyers Louise B. Raggio Award,2015 Southern Methodist University Distinguished Hispanic Alumna;2014 Trailblazer of the Year,Hispanic Women's Network of Texas;2012 Southern Methodist University Law Distinguished Alumna –Government Service;2012 La Luz Achievement,Dallas Hispanic Bar Association;and the 2012 Mujeres en Acción (Women in Action),UT Chicano/Hispanic Law Students Association. [21]
Saldaña is married to Marine veteran Don Templin,a retired attorney. [5] [22] She had two sons and a daughter. [7] She is a member of the Unitarian Church. [5] She has served as a board member or leader of a number of bar,religious and charitable organizations. [4] A sister,Marisela Saldaña,was a district court judge for District 148 in Corpus Christi,Texas,in 2006–2010. [5] [23]
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and undocumented immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization,charged with regulating and facilitating international trade,collecting import duties,as well as enforcing U.S. regulations,including trade,customs and immigration. CBP is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States. It has a workforce of more than 45,600 federal agents and officers. It is headquartered in Washington,D.C.
CoreCivic,formerly the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA),is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. Co-founded in 1983 in Nashville,Tennessee by Thomas W. Beasley,Robert Crants,and T. Don Hutto,it received investments from the Tennessee Valley Authority,Vanderbilt University,and Jack C. Massey,the founder of Hospital Corporation of America.
Julie Lyn Myers Wood is an American prosecutor and former government official. She was the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She assumed the job following a recess appointment by President George W. Bush on January 4,2006. Previously,Myers worked for the Office of Independent Counsel under Kenneth Starr and was a lead prosecutor in the Independent Counsel's failed case against Susan McDougal.
A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration law.
Operation Endgame was a 2003–2012 plan under implementation by the Office of Detention and Removal Operations of the United States Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain and deport all removable aliens and "suspected terrorists" currently living in the United States by 2012.
The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security under the Office of Strategy,Policy,and Plans.
The United States government holds tens of thousands of immigrants in detention under the control of Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Zadvydas v. Davis,533 U.S. 678 (2001),was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The court ruled that the plenary power doctrine does not authorize the indefinite detention of immigrants under order of deportation whom no other country will accept. To justify detention of immigrants for a period longer than six months,the government was required to show removal in the foreseeable future or special circumstances.
Secure Communities is a data-sharing program that relies on coordination between federal,state,and local law enforcement agencies. The program was designed to "check the immigration status of every single person arrested by local police anywhere in the country". As part of the program,fingerprints that are taken upon arrest,which are traditionally forwarded to the FBI,are then also forwarded to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If these finger prints match the DHS's Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT),then the ICE district office decides whether or not to issue a detainer request which can include requesting that the person be detained for up to 48 hours (I-247D),or a request for ICE to be notified upon their release (I-247N).
A. J. Irwin is a former federal agent who performed covert operations domestically and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean,resulting in the prosecution and dismantling of criminal organizations involving alien smuggling,narcotics trafficking,weapons trafficking and other illicit activities. Additionally,he managed anti-terrorism and anti-smuggling enforcement operations for the Department of Homeland Security for the central corridor of the U.S. He is currently the managing director of Investigations for Yarbrough Strategic Advisors (YSA) in Dallas,Texas.
John T. Morton is a former American government official who served as the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 2009 to 2013. Morton was appointed unanimously by the U.S. Senate on May 12,2009. Morton stepped down from ICE in July 2013 and currently works as the Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer at Capital One,a bank with headquarters in Virginia.
The 2006 Swift raids were a coordinated effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and deport people who are present illegally.
Deportation and removal from the United States occurs when the U.S. government orders a person to leave the country. In fiscal year 2014,Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted 315,943 removals. Criteria for deportations are set out in 8 U.S.C. § 1227.
The United States family separation policy under the Trump administration was presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation. In some cases,families following the legal procedure to apply for asylum at official border crossings were also separated. It was officially adopted across the entire US–Mexico border from April 2018 until June 2018. Under the policy,federal authorities separated children and infants from parents or guardians with whom they had entered the US. The adults were prosecuted and held in federal jails or deported,and the children were placed under the supervision of the US Department of Health and Human Services. More than 5,500 children,including infants,were removed and up to 2,000 still have not been reunited as of March 2024.
Family detention is the detention of multiple family members together in an immigration detention context. In the U.S. they are referred to as family detention camps,family detention centers, or family detention facilities.
The Trump administration has detained migrants attempting to enter the United States at the United States–Mexico border. Government reports from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General in May 2019 and July 2019 found that migrants had been detained under conditions that failed federal standards. These conditions have included prolonged detention,overcrowding,and poor hygiene and food standards.
John R. Sandweg is an American attorney who served as an acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from August 1,2013 to February 21,2014. He is a partner of Nixon Peabody leading the Cross-Border Risks team.
The Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a civilian official in the United States Department of Homeland Security. During July 2010 the position's title was changed from Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
The Glades County Detention Center,at 1297 East State Road 78 in remote Moore Haven,Florida,United States,opened in 2007 with 440 beds. Operated by the Glades County Sheriff's Office,besides Glades County arrestees,90% of its beds house Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees,which were previously spread around many county jails. It is Glades County's largest employer. It has been the site of widespread abuses,and in 2022,17 members of Congress asked that it be closed.