<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1656370758386,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000016c-727c-d9b2-af6f-f7ff06a00003","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1656370758386,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000016c-727c-d9b2-af6f-f7ff06a00003","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55396918", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1034103"} }); ","_id":"00000181-a763-da7c-a7c7-e767d4080000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedPresident Joe Biden’s nominee to run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has withdrawn his name from the confirmation process after going 14 months without a Senate vote.
Sheriff Ed Gonzales of Houston’s Harris County announced Monday evening that he had informed the White House on Sunday that he was no longer interested in leading the Department of Homeland Security agency, which he was nominated to head in April 2021.
“I arrived at this decision after prayerfully considering what’s best for our nation, my family, and the people of Harris County who elected me to serve a second term as Sheriff,” Gonzales wrote in a tweet. “I am grateful to President Biden for the honor of nominating me, and I wish this administration well as it strives to overcome the paralyzing political gridlock that threatens far more than our nation’s border. Frankly, the dysfunction threatens America’s heart and soul.”
But Gonzalez’s rescission follows the Senate’s decision in March to delay his confirmation process amid claims that he was the suspect in a domestic violence altercation with his wife, Melissa.
CARAVAN MIGRANTS NEAR U.S. BORDER AS OTHERS CROSS INTO TEXAS
Gonzalez worked for the Houston Police Department for nearly two decades before becoming sheriff, where he spoke out against ICE, a federal agency that is responsible for detaining and deporting immigrants residing in the United States without permission, as well as carrying out major investigations that relate to homeland security.
The sheriff spoke out after former President Donald Trump opted to separate children from their parents as part of a zero-tolerance policy in 2018, and he raised his voice again the following year when Trump vowed to go after “millions of illegal aliens.”
“Separating families who arrive at our border harms children and is an affront to American values,” Gonzalez wrote in 2018. “Children should not be in immigration detention, period.”
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“I do not support #ICERaids that threaten to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of whom do not represent a threat to the U.S. The focus should always be on clear & immediate safety threats. Not others who are not threats,” Gonzalez wrote on Twitter in July 2019, adding that his sheriff’s department, the third-largest in the country, would not take part in any such federal operation.
