By Steve Neavling
President Biden nominated for a second time Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzaelez to be the next director of ICE.
ICE has not had a confirmed director since January 2017, when Sarah Saldaña retired.
In April 2020, Biden first nominated Gonzalez, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump’s immigration policies. But the nomination stalled in the Senate and expired at the end of the year.
Gonzalez was elected sheriff of Harris County, which includes Houston, in 2016 and reelected in 2020.
Gonzalez will likely face opposition from Republicans for a second time.
Gonzalez has criticized Trump’s deportation policies and the separation of migrant children from their families.
His law enforcement career began in the Houston Police Department, and he later served three terms on the Houston City Council.
Gonzalez has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Houston Downtown and a master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas.
