May 14, 2009

John Morton Unanimously Confirmed as Assistant Secretary of ICE

On May 12, 2009, the Unites States Senate unanimously confirmed John Morton as Assistant Secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). President Obama announced his intention to nominate John Morton for this leading role on February 23, 2009.

John Morton has a long history with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) where he was responsible for immigration enforcement and criminal prosecution. Since September 2007, he has been Acting Chief of the Domestic Security Section and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, and prior to that served as Deputy Chief of the Domestic Security Section. In these roles, he developed DOJ policy in the areas of immigration crime, particularly human smuggling, passport and visa fraud, and human rights offenses. John Morton also held the position of Assistant United States Attorney in the Major Crimes and Terrorism Units of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.