ICE Director nominee Ed Gonzalez withdraws from consideration
CBS
Biden's Pick to Lead ICE Withdraws from Confirmation Process
Image copyright: KLA Times [via The New York Times]
The Facts
Harris County, Texas Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, Pres. Biden's pick to direct the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said Mon. that he was withdrawing from a 14-month troubled nomination process.
Once nominated, Gonzalez quickly faced Republican criticism over his decision to opt his county out of an ICE database that screens prison inmates for their immigration status.
The Spin
Republican narrative
Gonzalez's belated withdrawal from the nomination process is a good thing: he was never the right pick for the job. As Sheriff of Harris County, Gonzalez terminated his department's partnership with ICE and repeatedly criticized the agency for doing what it was created to do: enforce immigration laws already on the books.
Democratic narrative
Gonzalez was forced to withdraw from this neverending confirmation process because of Republicans' racist attitude toward him, and flawed thinking about how ICE should be run in general. He would've been a fresh face in a deteriorating agency, but Republicans, yet again, blocked a phenomenal candidate.