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President Biden again nominates Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez to lead ICE

The position is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Census Bureau Director nominee Robert Santos, left, and nominee for Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, Ed Gonzalez, of Texas, listen to instructions as they arrive for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing on their nominations, Thursday, July 15, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. If confirmed, Santos, a third-generation Mexican American, would be the first person of color to be a permanent head of the nation's largest statistical agency. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (Jacquelyn Martin, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

President Joe Biden on Tuesday again nominated Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez to serve as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The position is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. ICE has gone five years without a Senate-confirmed leader.

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President Biden first nominated Gonzalez in April 2021 and several months later in July 2021, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held its confirmation hearing for Gonzalez. In August, the committee approved his nomination. Out of the committee since the summer, a full vote by the Senate never came.

Left pending in the Senate, the nomination expired Monday when the first session of the 117th Congress formally ended. Per Senate rules, nominations not confirmed before the end of a legislative session must be resubmitted.

If the Senate does confirm his nomination, Gonzalez would oversee the enforcement of U.S immigration law.

Gonzalez, a lifelong Houstonian, began his law enforcement career with the Houston Police Department, where he worked first as a civilian employee then as an officer, homicide detective, hostage negotiator, and lastly a sergeant.

He served three terms on the City Council before being elected sheriff in 2016. In 2020, he was re-elected.

RELATED: Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez’s nomination to lead ICE approved by Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee


About the Author
Briana Zamora-Nipper headshot

Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.

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