http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ne ... 539388.htm

Posted on Fri, Sep. 02, 2005


IMMIGRATION
Miamian nominated as immigration chief
A retired Army colonel working in Miami was tapped by President Bush to lead U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
BY JAY WEAVER
jweaver@herald.com

A top manager in a Miami law firm has been nominated by President Bush to be director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency charged with processing millions of applications from newcomers to the United States.

Emilio T. Gonzalez, a retired Army colonel, is the senior managing director of global and government affairs for Tew Cardenas, LLP, a prominent Miami law firm with close ties to the Bush administration.

''We are proud of Emilio,'' senior partner Thomas Tew said Thursday. ``This appointment is an honor and recognizes his expertise in matters of critical importance to our country.''

Gonzalez, 48, whose nomination was announced late Wednesday by White House officials, declined to comment.

If confirmed by the Senate, Gonzalez will take the reins of a massive federal agency with a $1.8 billion annual budget, 15,000 employees and contractors, and 250 offices in the United States and around the world.

The agency, which was part of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, handles public inquiries and processes applications from foreigners seeking green cards, citizenship and work permits.

Since reopening its doors in early 2003 as part of the Homeland Security Department, it has been criticized for failing to reduce lengthy delays in processing immigration applications. Agency officials blamed the backlog on extra security checks required after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In 2004, the agency launched a plan to eliminate the backlog and reduce the wait time to complete applications to no more than six months by 2006.

The backlog, which reached a record 3.4 million cases in January 2004, has been trimmed to 1.5 million, according to the agency's former director, Eduardo Aguirre, who stepped down to become U.S. ambassador to Spain.

Gonzalez is no stranger to Washington. Before joining the Miami law firm, he served in the Bush administration as director of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council.

He also served in the U.S. Army for 26 years, retiring in 2003. During his military career, he worked in U.S. embassies in El Salvador and Mexico, and directed the Office of Special Assistants for the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Southern Command.

He received his bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida, his first master's degree from Tulane University and his second master's degree from the United States Naval War College. He later received his doctorate from the University of Miami.