[Senate Hearing 109-390]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
S. Hrg. 109-390
CONFIRMATION HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF JAMES O'GARA, TO BE DEPUTY
DIRECTOR FOR SUPPLY REDUCTION, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY;
JULIE MYERS, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS
ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; AND EMILIO GONZALEZ, TO
BE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES,
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 18, 2005
__________
Serial No. J-109-41
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont
CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
JON KYL, Arizona JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware
MIKE DeWINE, Ohio HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin
JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin
JOHN CORNYN, Texas CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
David Brog, Staff Director
Michael O'Neill, Chief Counsel
Bruce A. Cohen, Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Page
Cornyn, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas........ 1
Grassley, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa,
prepared statement............................................. 216
Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont,
prepared statement............................................. 218
PRESENTERS
Martinez, Hon. Mel, a U.S. Senator from the State of Florida
presenting Emilio Gonzalez, Nominee to be Director of the
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services................. 2
Ros-Lehtinen, Hon. Ileana, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Florida presenting Emilio Gonzalez, Nominee to be
Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. 3
STATEMENTS OF THE NOMINEES
Gonzalez, Emilio, Nominee to be Director of the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland
Security....................................................... 53
Questionnaire................................................ 54
Myers, Julie, Nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security....... 19
Questionnaire................................................ 20
O'Gara, James, Nominee to be Deputy Director for Supply
Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy.............. 5
Questionnaire................................................ 6
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Responses of James O'Gara to questions submitted by Senators
Biden, Grassley, Kennedy and Leahy............................. 75
Responses of Julie Myers to questions submitted by Senators
Grassley, Kennedy, Kyl, Leahy and Schumer...................... 167
Responses of Emilio Gonzalez to questions submitted by Senator
Kennedy........................................................ 214
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
Roberts, Hon. Pat, a U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas,
statement in support of Julie Myers, Nominee to be Assistant
Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.............. 225
Ros-Lehtinen, Hon. Ileana, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Florida in support of Emilio Gonzalez, Nominee to be
Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services,
prepared statement............................................. 226
NOMINATIONS OF JAMES O'GARA, TO BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR SUPPLY
REDUCTION, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY; JULIE MYERS, TO BE
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT
OF HOMELAND SECURITY; AND EMILIO GONZALEZ, TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU
OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2005
U.S. Senate,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:31 p.m., in
room-226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Cornyn
presiding.
Present: Senators Cornyn, Coburn, and Leahy.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN CORNYN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
STATE OF TEXAS
Senator Cornyn. [Presiding] The Committee will come to
order.
I want to thank Chairman Specter for scheduling today's
hearing. This hearing involves three very important positions,
and this is the first step to getting those positions filled.
If confirmed, each of these nominess will fill a vital position
in our Government, and I hope we can get these nominations
voted out of the Committee in the near term and to the Senate
floor as soon as possible.
The Homeland Security nominations are particularly relevant
in light of the hearing held this morning by Chairman Specter,
which concerned the issue of comprehensive immigration reform.
And of course the Secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security and the Secretary of the Department of Labor,
Secretary Chao, testified. At that hearing we heard about the
need to restore integrity and the rule of law to the U.S.
immigration system. And while there is a growing consensus that
the system is badly broken, there is not yet a consensus on the
path ahead.
What we can all agree upon is that if these nominees are
confirmed, that they will play critical roles in implementing
the reforms that Congress adopts and in evaluating any proposal
from the standpoint of the resources and capabilities of the
Department to respond to Congress's mandate.
With that background, I look forward to discussing with
each of the nominees the challenges that they would face as
well as the role that immigration reform will play in either
hurting or helping your respective agencies' abilities to
accomplish their missions.
What I want to do is say a few words about Ms. Myers by way
of introduction, then I would like to recognize my colleagues,
Senator Martinez and Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, to say a few
words about Mr. Gonzalez.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's mission--ICE--is to
prevent acts of terrorism by targeting the people, money, and
materials that support terrorists and criminal activities. This
is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland
Security. If confirmed as Assistant Secretary for ICE, Ms.
Julie Myers would oversee a budget of several billion dollars
and manage approximately 20,000 employees. She would be
responsible for coordinating a wide range of enforcement
efforts, including alien smuggling, financial crimes, and the
apprehension, detention, and removal of illegal aliens.
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs
Committee recently approved the nomination of Ms. Myers to be
Assistant Secretary. Ms. Myers's nomination is supported by the
Fraternal Order of Police and by the Federal Law Enforcement
Officers Association. She also has the support of Senator
Warner, the former Secretary of the Navy and the current chair
of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as Larry
Thompson, the former Deputy Attorney General of the United
States.
Ms. Myers has served as a senior official within the
administration for the past 5 years. Her professional
experience includes both work as a prosecutor and manager over
several sections within the Department of Treasury's Office of
Enforcement. As Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of
Treasury, she supervised both the counter-narcotics and
international money laundering sections of the Department of
Treasury. She then worked as the Assistant Secretary for Export
Enforcement at the Department of Commerce, where she oversaw a
law enforcement agency whose mission is to combat the illegal
export of sensitive U.S. technology. She has also served as
chief of staff to Secretary Chertoff when he was at the
Criminal Division at the Department of Justice.
As I indicated, I would now like to recognize my colleague,
Senator Martinez, for any introductory comments he would care
to make.
PRESENTATION OF EMILIO GONZALEZ, NOMINEE TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE
BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY, BY HON. MEL MARTINEZ, A U.S. SENATOR FROM
THE STATE OF FLORIDA
Senator Martinez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a real
honor and privilege to be here with you today, and thank you
for allowing me a few moments to share with you the great honor
I feel in being here today to introduce my good friend Emilio
Gonzalez to the Committee. The President has chosen a great
person to lead our Nation's Citizenship and Immigration
Services. Emilio Gonzalez will bring a great deal of depth of
international and domestic policy experience to this position.
His dedication to our Nation began early in his life when,
many years ago, as a young man, he enlisted in the military, in
the United States Army, making the rank of colonel. As the
Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs for President Bush, he
served as a key national security advisor and trusted advisor
to both President Bush and Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who served as
National Security Advisor at the time. I mention this point out
of the fact that Mr. Gonzalez, through his hard work, has
already earned the trust of the President and his key advisors
and will be able to hit the ground running in this very, very
important position.
As an immigrant to this country himself, Mr. Gonzalez and I
share a common heritage, both of us immigrating here from Cuba
at early ages. I understand from my own life experience that he
understands the meaning and the value of a United States
citizenship, the meaning and the value of what it means to live
in a society that is free and that is open and, at the same
time, also understands the national secretary requirements that
go hand in hand with immigration and citizenship policies. He
will know how to balance this important responsibility with
compassion and understanding. Emilio is a man of character and
competence. He is also a man committed to his faith and to his
wonderful family that is here with him today.
We are currently debating and discussing, as the Chair
pointed out, the very important issue of immigration reform.
Our country is at a point where we need to address the
immigration issue in a way that recognizes the economic
contributions that immigrants are making and have made to this
country, while at the same time also balancing the very
important need for strong border enforcement and the
enforcement of the rule of law.
I know that Emilio, a colleague during our time in the
administration and also a friend of mine, will serve our
country well in this position and I urge my colleagues in the
Senate to join me in a swift confirmation of Mr. Gonzalez to
this very important post.
Thank you.
Senator Cornyn. Thank you, Senator Martinez.
Representative Ros-Lehtinen, we will be glad to hear from
you.
PRESENTATION OF EMILIO GONZALEZ, NOMINEE TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE
BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY, BY HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, A
REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA
Representative Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman and thank you to my dear friend, the good doctor.
I have had the privilege of serving with him in the House. He
ignored me then, too.
[Laughter.]
Representative Ros-Lehtinen. I am so pleased to be here
today with our wonderful Senator from the State of Florida, Mel
Martinez, to support a constituent of my Congressional district
and a dear friend, Dr. Emilio Gonzalez, in his nomination to
the position of Director of Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security.
As you heard from Senator Martinez, throughout his
professional career Dr. Gonzalez has remained committed to
protecting and defending our National security. He completed a
distinguished military career with the rank of colonel,
spanning nearly three decades in the U.S. Army, and is
considered one of the most accomplished foreign area officers
in the Department of Defense. Dr. Gonzalez also served as
Director of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security
Council during President George W. Bush's first administration.
And it is in this capacity that he served as a key national
security and foreign policy advisor to President Bush and to
then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. So clearly,
Dr. Gonzalez's experience is beyond that of an average nominee.
His predecessor, the current U.S. Ambassador to Spain
Eduardo Aguirre, made significant and measurable progress at
the Agency toward eliminating the immigration backlog,
improving customer service, and enhancing national security. I
am certain that Dr. Gonzalez will not only continue in
Ambassador Aguirre's tradition of excellence but that he will
propel the Department of Homeland Security to new heights by
bringing his expertise in foreign affairs, his knowledge of
international security policy issues, and his unwavering
professionalism to the position of Director of the Bureau of
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
President Bush has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment
to nominating outstanding members of the Hispanic community to
Federal posts and he continues to do so by recommending an
individual, Emilio Gonzalez, who is so devoted to protecting
our precious homeland. So it is therefore my honor to join
President Bush and my friend Senator Martinez in offering my
utmost support for Dr. Emilio Gonzalez--a gentleman, a scholar,
and a true patriot. And he is joined here today by his wife,
Gloria, and his daughters Gigi and Vicki. It is a pleasure to
have them here.
Thank you, Emilio.
Thank you, Senators.
Senator Cornyn. Thank you very much for those
introductions. I know members of Congress on both sides of the
Capitol have a lot of conflicting commitments, so we will be
glad to excuse you if you will then let us proceed now.
As our colleagues leave, let me say a few words by way of
introduction about the third nominee, who has been nominated to
be Deputy Director for Supply Reduction at the Office of
National Drug Control Policy, Mr. James O'Gara.
Mr. O'Gara is the President's nominee to be the Director
for Supply Reduction for the Office of National Drug Control
Policy. This position is charged with implementing the
President's national drug control strategy in the area of
supply reduction. If confirmed, Mr. O'Gara will focus his
efforts on disrupting the market for illegal drugs in the
United States and abroad by working with his counterparts at
other agencies, including the departments of State, Defense,
Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury, as well as the
Central Intelligence Agency.
Mr. O'Gara currently serves as Special Assistant to the
Director of National Drug Control Policy and is responsible for
advising the Director on matters of intelligence, interdiction,
and international affairs. For the last 4 years, Mr. O'Gara has
been the principal drafter of the President's national drug
control strategy, with responsibility for soliciting input from
Congress, executive agencies, State and local governments, as
well as the private sector, in the development of the strategy.
He is also a former Judiciary staff member for Senator Hatch.
And we won't hold that against you.
[Laughter.]
Senator Cornyn. I know Senator Leahy is going to be here in
just a moment, the Ranking Member, but I would be happy to
recognize Senator Coburn if he has any preliminary remarks he
would care to make.
Senator Coburn. I don't have an opening statement, Mr.
Chairman.
Senator Cornyn. Thank you, Dr. Coburn.
May I please ask the nominees each to come forward and have
a seat. And if you will, before you sit down, raise your right
hand and repeat after me.
I, James O'Gara, Julie Myers, Emilio Gonzalez, do solemnly
swear that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help me God.
Thank you very much. Please have a seat.
Mr. O'Gara, you are the first nominee up, and we will be
glad to hear any opening remarks that you would care to make.
STATEMENT OF JAMES O'GARA, NOMINEE TO BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR
SUPPLY REDUCTION, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY
Mr. O'Gara. Thank you very much, Chairman Cornyn. Senator
Coburn. I would like to thank Chairman Specter and Ranking
Member Leahy for holding this hearing today.
I would like to thank the President and Director Walters
for giving me this opportunity to be part of the team that is
helping to drive down drug use in the United States--17
percent, over the past 3 years, reductions among 8th, 10th, and
12th graders. The Office of Drug Control Policy, where I serve,
is in fact a creation of this very Committee. I would like to
thank Senator Hatch, whose quick action during the 1990's saved
the office from elimination, and I would also like to thank
Senator Biden for his intellectual authorship of the law that
created the Office in the first place.
From my time at the Drug Enforcement Administration to the
Committee staff that you alluded to, to my time at ONDCP, I
learned that when we push back against the drug problem, we can
make it smaller. My focus, if confirmed, will be our
international drug control efforts in Colombia and the Andes,
in the Transit Zone, in Mexico and Afghanistan.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look
forward to answering your questions.
[The biographical information of Mr. O'Gara follows.]
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Senator Cornyn. Thank you, Mr. O'Gara.
Ms. Myers, we will now turn to you for any opening
statement you care to make.
STATEMENT OF JULIE MYERS, NOMINEE TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Ms. Myers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Coburn. I am
honored to appear before you today.
I want to begin by thanking the President for his faith in
me and for nominating me for this position. I also want to
thank Secretary Chertoff, with whom I've had the privilege of
working with in the past and, if confirmed, I would look
forward to working with again.
ICE is a tremendous agency. I know this because I have
worked with the agents first-hand, as an Assistant United
States Attorney, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury
Department, as chief of staff for the Criminal Division, and
most recently, as Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at
the Commerce Department. I have seen first-hand what ICE can
do, but there is much more that must be done.
If confirmed, here is my vision for ICE:
First, to echo the Secretary's comments this morning, ICE
must effectively engage in interior enforcement and removal of
aliens. I hope very much that Congress passes comprehensive
immigration reform. But if confirmed, I will not wait for that
to begin enforcing all the laws on the books and streamlining
our removal processes.
Second, part of the reason that the Department of Homeland
Security was created was to connect the dots to ensure that we
were harnessing all available intelligence. If confirmed, I
would work to make sure that ICE is using all the intelligence
data bases that it has, all the information that it has to
track those who want to harm our country.
Third, I would work to expand ICE's great work in terms of
strategic investigations and financial investigations. They
have done great things there in the Cornerstone Program and
others, but much more must be done.
And finally, but very importantly, I would work on Agency-
building to build a new ICE culture. Much must be done in the
way of building morale, improving infrastructure both financial
and otherwise to make ICE into the truly great agency it will
become.
I thank the Committee for its consideration of my
nomination, and I will be pleased to answer any questions that
you have.
[The biographical information of Ms. Myers follows.]
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Senator Cornyn. Thank you, Ms. Myers.
Dr. Gonzalez?
STATEMENT OF EMILIO GONZALEZ, NOMINEE TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE
BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you, Senator Cornyn.
I would like to thank Chairman Specter, Ranking Member
Leahy, and other members of the Committee for allowing me the
opportunity to appear before you today as you consider the
President's nomination of me to be the next Director of the
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. And I also want to
thank you for affording me such an expeditious hearing date. In
addition, I would like to thank President Bush and Secretary
Chertoff for the trust and confidence that they have placed in
me to lead U.S. CIS.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank my wife of 27
years, Gloria, and my daughters Gloria and Victoria, who flew
up from Florida to be with me today.
I also want to thank Senator Mel Martinez and Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen for their kind introductions. Both are dear friends
who have served this great Nation with honor and distinction,
and their public praise, particularly in this special setting,
means more to me than they will ever know.
I am humbled by the opportunity to be here, in part because
I am a product of the U.S. immigration system. My parents came
to this country in 1961 fleeing the horrors of Fidel Castro's
rule in Cuba. Immigration is not new to my family. My
grandfather left his home in Spain in the early 1900's, so
therefore I am the third generation of my family to have lived
in as many countries.
My parents arrived in Tampa, Florida, with little more than
the clothes on their backs but with high hopes for a better
future for their then-7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son--a
son who sits before you today. I am and always will be an
immigrant, an American not by birth but by choice. For me, the
President's nomination to be Director of U.S. CIS is more than
just an honor. It is an opportunity to return to a life
dedicated to public service that began when I was 20 years old
and commissioned as 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army.
For almost three decades I served in a variety of roles that
included troop leader, staff officer, intelligence analyst,
intelligence collector, instructor, military attache, personnel
manager, regional specialist and policy advisor. I later served
on the President's National Security Council.
Should I be confirmed, I would look forward to bringing my
leadership skills, understanding of national security, and my
own personal immigrant experience to bear on the issues that
lay before U.S. CIS and the Department of Homeland Security.
For the sake of brevity, I will end it here, Senator, and I
will submit the remainder of my remarks for the record.
Senator Cornyn. Without objection.
[The biographical information of Mr. Gonzalez follows.]
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Senator Cornyn. Very good. We will proceed now with the
rounds of questioning, although given the fact that there are
only two of us here, we will take a little bit of liberty with
that. As I always tell nominees, the fact that we don't have a
full phalanx of Senators up here is not necessarily bad news.
Some might regard it as good news.
But let me begin first with Ms. Myers, we have heard an
awful lot of testimony, and you alluded to it in your comments,
about the expedited removal program, this morning from
Secretary Chertoff. I was delighted to hear him say that it had
to end--the catch-and-release program, that is--and that we had
to make sure that the deterrence effect of expedited removal
was real.
So I would like to hear from you. We have gone from roughly
90 days through the ordinary process down to in the 30's, but
we still have 20 days just for giving the proper travel
documentation and other what I would call more bureaucratic
requirements. Do you have any suggestions for us or any
thoughts on how we can reduce that time even further to a
shorter period of time so that the threat of detention and
removal is a real deterrent?
Ms. Myers. Thank you, Senator Cornyn, for that question. I
certainly agree with your sentiment that the threat of
detention and removal should not be a threat, it should be
something that we are actually able to enforce. When we detain
someone, we should be able to remove them at the end of the
day.
In terms of cutting down that time period, I think it is
important to look at the business cycle of removal and look at
where are there choke points, where are we as the U.S.
Government, ICE, the Border Patrol, other points, taking too
long in doing our parts of the job, and where are our other
partners in the system, such as foreign governments, taking too
long or taking too many days to respond to certain requests.
I think that the Department's first look at streamlining
this has some good potential for progress. One of the things
that they are doing is looking into video conferencing. Many
countries require an in-person interview with a consular
officer before they will issue travel documents. Can we do this
interview on video conferencing? I am pleased to say that
Honduras has agreed to video conferencing. That can
significantly cut down the amount of delay.
Obviously, video conferencing cannot be it alone. We need
to look at every single piece, every single place along the way
and search for improvements there.
I would like to just add that I don't think expedited
removal can handle this alone. In instances where we will have
to release individuals, we should look for alternatives to
detention that actually work. We should take a look at the
intensive supervision appearance programs, electronic
monitoring, or other methods. And finally, we should look at
what are the incentives and disincentives for people to abscond
if they are released. I think if we looked comprehensively at
our bond situation, that might be an area we could improve. If
people knew that if they absconded they would be removed back
home very quickly if they were caught, that might be an area we
could also improve upon.
Senator Cornyn. Ms. Myers, I know that management
experience is one important qualification for the position that
you have been nominated to. You have quite an accomplished
resume and you have held several high-profile and important
positions, and it appears you have excelled in all of them.
Ms. Myers. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Cornyn. But can you assure the Committee that you
have the experience necessary to take on a job of this
magnitude with the responsibility for such a large part of our
law enforcement efforts at the Department of Homeland Security?
Ms. Myers. Absolutely, Senator, I can assure you that my
experience qualifies me for this job. First, in terms of law
enforcement experience, I have had the opportunity to manage a
nationwide law enforcement agency--not only any law enforcement
agency, but one that dealt with sophisticated cases, in fact,
enforcing a form of border security, our export control laws.
In addition to my work at the Commerce Department, when I
served as chief of staff to Secretary Chertoff, I had the
opportunity there to manage very sophisticated cases and show
the kind of judgment and skill that is needed in order for
ICE--
Hello, there, Ranking Member Leahy. I appreciate hosting
this Committee on my behalf and on behalf of the other
nominees.
While I was serving as chief of staff for Secretary
Chertoff, I had the ability to manage a large number of
sections in the Criminal Division and to move the agenda
forward, and to do this in a short time. I am someone that,
when put in place, will find out what consensus is, find out
what the agenda needs to be, and achieve results. I have done
that at the Commerce Department, at the Justice Department, at
the Treasury Department, and I was successful as an AUSA. If
confirmed as Assistant Secretary for ICE, I would do the same
thing there.
But management experience alone is not enough. One of the
additional reasons that I should be confirmed as Assistant
Secretary is my vision for the Agency, as described previously
in my opening statement, and I would be happy to answer any
additional questions you have about that.
Senator Cornyn. Well, thank you very much. There will be
some, I am sure, some additional rounds, since 5 minutes goes
by very quickly. So we will come back for additional--I will
have additional questions of Mr. O'Gara and Dr. Gonzalez.
At this time, I will turn to our distinguished Ranking
Member, Senator Leahy.
Senator Leahy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It has been a tad
busy today. We are trying to work out a schedule for another
major nomination in the next few weeks or months. I was
thinking of that when I saw your name, Ms. Myers, but your name
is spelled differently.
Let me ask you about the Law Enforcement Support Center. I
am sure you expected that I would ask a question about LESC. It
started off as a pilot project in one county in Arizona and now
it fields more than a half million calls annually from law
enforcement officers around the Nation seeking information
about the legal status of immigrants. It is manned 7 days a
week, 24 hours a day. The reason, Mr. Chairman, that I am
somewhat interested in this, is that it is located in--
Senator Cornyn. Vermont.
Senator Leahy. Yes.
ICE has assigned the LESC to work on the Absconder
Apprehension Initiative, tracking down the aliens who have been
ordered to leave the country, but fled instead. Operation
Predator, focused on alien sex offenders issued 16,000
detainers last year. The government is trying to cross-link
LESC with NCIC at the FBI. How do you envision using the LESC?
Ms. Myers. Thank you, Senator, for that question. I agree
with you that LESC has really been one of the great successes
in ICE's short history. As you mentioned, it has answered more
than 500,000 calls in the past year alone. I think that LESC
has been effective as serving as a major point of contact, but
I think we can really expand it working, for example, through
the new Fugitive Operations Support Center, which is proposed
and we hope to be fully up and running by the end of calendar
year 2005.
If confirmed, I would work to ensure that the LESC, as well
as the Fugitive Operations Support Center, get all the support
that they need and are known as a single point of contact to
State and locals throughout the country. They should know where
to call, who to contact, and know that they can reach someone
on the other end of the line.
Senator Leahy. Thank you.
Dr. Gonzalez, I look at your record in public service,
including your 25 years in the military. I am looking for
expertise in immigration matters. When did you work in the
White House with the National Security Council?
Mr. Gonzalez. Sir, that was in 2002 and 2003.
Senator Leahy. Were you on detail from the Army?
Mr. Gonzalez. I was, sir.
Senator Leahy. The Web site of your current employer states
you were the Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the
National Security Council. What were the responsibilities in
that position?
Mr. Gonzalez. Sir, I had the responsibilities for--the way
we were divided up is geographically and functionally. So I had
responsibilities for Central America, the Caribbean, and I also
had functional responsibilities for defense issues and also
immigration issues, matters such as temporary worker status,
planned/unplanned migrations, particularly Haiti, Cuba.
Senator Leahy. Is that the sum of your immigration
experience?
Mr. Gonzalez. Sir, my immigration experience--from your
perspective, that would be it. My immigration experience
happens to be the fact that I am a product of the U.S.
immigration system. So not only do I bring my personal story to
bear on this position should I be confirmed, but also the fact
that I have 30 years of progressive management experience
throughout my career. I am not an immigration attorney, no,
sir.
Senator Leahy. I was going to say my maternal grandparents
emigrated here from Italy not speaking any English, but I don't
consider myself an expert in handling the Immigration Service.
I will have other questions for you, especially about the St.
Albans Service Center that I am sure you are aware of, and what
they have done to reduce backlogs and to make other
improvements. I hope that you would work closely with them to
ensure that those improvements continue.
Mr. Gonzalez. Sir, I can tell you that in all the briefings
that I have been--I don't want to say ``subjected to,'' but
that I have had, only the highest comments have been made about
the service centers in Vermont. And if confirmed, I look
forward to visiting there.
Senator Leahy. I will go with you.
Mr. Gonzalez. Yes, sir. It would be my pleasure.
Senator Leahy. Thank you.
Senator Cornyn. Senator Coburn, if you have any questions?
Senator Coburn. I do. I had some confusion about the
scheduling that we had arranged. Are we needing to do that or
not?
Senator Cornyn. My conflict has not yet arisen, so we will
play that by ear.
Senator Coburn. Thank you very much.
Well, I don't have any questions for Ms. Myers. She came
before the Homeland Security Committee and I chaired the
Subcommittee that had that. So I will direct most of my
questions to Dr. Gonzalez and Mr. O'Gara.
I am really interested in Plan Colombia and what it has
really accomplished. It has been a tremendous cost to this
country. Can you kind of summarize what the American taxpayer
has gotten for Plan Colombia?
Mr. O'Gara. Thank you, Senator. I think we have gotten a
tremendous amount. The Plan Colombia, which has received
tremendous support from bipartisan majorities in the Congress
on both sides of the Capitol, has done a number of things in
Colombia--which I will come back to in a minute--because our
charge from the President on down has been to focus on the
narcotics piece.
In 2001, the last full year before President Uribe took
office, Colombia produced over 900 metric tons of export
quality cocaine, mostly destined for export to the U.S. Through
an aggressive program involving the Department of State,
obviously the Colombia national police and the military in the
lead, and the United States Agency for International
Development, we have been able to reduce that through an
aggressive eradication program to just over 500 tons. That is
about a 33 percent reduction in four years.
Another positive development as a result of Plan Colombia
has been the ability to finance interdiction efforts off the
north coast and the Pacific coast of Colombia, which have
interdicted increasing amount sort of cocaine bound for the
U.S. Of that 515, roughly, tons available for export last year,
we seized 248 tons en route to the United States. And that is
seizures in Colombia, off the coast of Colombia, and in the
Transit Zone.
So we have had, I think, tremendous success, and a lot of
it, frankly, has been the dedication and aggressiveness of the
Uribe administration, which has really taken this mission very
seriously.
Senator Coburn. Is there a balloon effect to the other
countries that neighbor Colombia, and what are we doing about
that?
Mr. O'Gara. Well, that is an excellent question. I mean,
the balloon effect--and Senator Biden has talked about this at
length--is something we need to be very mindful of. The balloon
effect, obviously, being when you push down somewhere, it pops
up somewhere else. The neighboring cocaine-producer countries
of Bolivia and Peru produce, respectively, on the order of 100
and 165 metric tons of cocaine a year. And we've been able to
keep that relatively stable. I think Peru was down a little bit
last year, Bolivia was up a little bit. Ninety-nine percent of
Bolivia's cocaine doesn't come to the U.S. market, and in the
case of Peru it is only about 16 percent, so we have been able
to, I think, protect our market from being accessed by those.
We have to be very careful. We have seen evidence of
Mexican trafficking groups making inroads into the Peruvian
market. We need to keep on top of that. But so far, so good.
Senator Coburn. One followup question. One of my concerns
is we spend a lot of money in interdiction and stopping the
flow of drugs, but we don't spend the same amount of money in
terms of drug treatment programs. One of the ways you stop
demand for drugs is to get people off drugs, and one of the
things that I would like to see us doing--I would like to see
more emphasis placed by the administration, is that we know
very well-run drug treatment centers free about 65 to 70
percent of the people for life from their drug addiction. And,
you know, one of the ways to decrease demand is to do that.
What are your thoughts on drug treatment as a component of
decreasing the demand for the product that you are trying to
destroy?
Mr. O'Gara. Absolutely. I mean, we see it as a virtual
circle, where drug treatment reduces the demand and therefore
the impulse of the American drug consumer to bring the drugs
into the country, law enforcement can make drug treatment work
better by referring people to mandatory treatment through drug
courts, interdiction makes the drug more expensive and makes it
harder for people to use as much as they want. So we think that
they all work together. The President's request for fiscal year
2006 contained--I want to say 23 percent drug treatment. It was
probably the second-biggest single element of that, including
the access to recovery initiative, which is $100 million, to
give access to community, faith-based, and other groups to
provide drug treatment services.
But you are absolutely right. Drug treatment is a key
element of a successful strategy, and one that is balanced.
Senator Coburn. Mr. Chairman, I will yield back for another
round, if we have it.
Senator Cornyn. Mr. O'Gara, let me ask you about the
connection between illegal drug trafficking and terror. As I
have looked more and more into human smuggling and that sort of
organized crime activity that we know occurs south of our
border but literally internationally, I have been impressed
with the fact--or should say, maybe, depressed--with the fact
that, more and more, these organized crime syndicates are
really just concerned about making money. And they will smuggle
drugs, they will traffic in people, they will traffic in
weapons and the like.
Can you enlighten us any about the connection that you have
observed between illegal drug trafficking and terror?
Mr. O'Gara. Mr. Chairman, indeed there is a connection. It
varies. I think the Department of State identifies 40 listed
FTOs at this time. Our last scrub identified 12 of them, which
had some significant role in either producing drugs, guarding
cultivation, traffic, and so forth. The connection is perhaps
clearest in Colombia, where you have three foreign terrorist
organization groups, the ELN, the FARC, and the AUC. All of
them are heavily involved in the drug trade--cultivating,
monitoring cultivation and processing, in some cases even off-
continent distribution of those drugs.
With respect to the FARC, I think the U.S. Government
supports the efforts of the Colombian Government to target and
marginalize and take back Colombia. One of the ways we have
done that--and I don't think anybody really saw this coming--
was, frankly, by hitting them in the pocketbook as aggressively
as we have. We have cost them hundreds of millions of dollars
annually in drug revenues. Similar with the AUC and similarly
with the ELN.
In terms of other terrorist groups, there have been
linkages that have been frightening to many. Certainly the al
Qaeda-affiliated group that perpetrated the Madrid bombings,
they made their money by selling hashish. So it comes in
different forms and contexts.
Senator Cornyn. Thank you. I will have some other questions
in writing for Ms. Myers and Mr. O'Gara, and I just have a
couple of questions for Dr. Gonzalez and then I am going to
turn the gavel over to Senator Coburn.
Dr. Gonzalez, what steps do you plan to implement, if
confirmed, that will achieve the President's goal of 6-month
processing times for all immigration benefit applications?
Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you for the question, sir.
The backlog reduction which you are talking about is
obviously something that is key to everybody that works in U.S.
CIS. And I think we can safely say that so far the backlog
reduction has been a good-news story. We are not where we need
to be, we need to work harder to get to the President's stated
goal, but at the same time I think that the accomplishments to
date have been noteworthy. Personnel have already been shifted
to locations that have the greatest influx of documents,
resources have been dedicated, new technologies are coming
online soon, which will help facilitate, create efficiencies.
But at the same time, sir, as much as everybody wants to
talk about backlog reduction and everybody wants to achieve
that as an end state because the 6-month period, I think, is a
fair and acceptable period, I don't think we want to do that at
the expense of security. And I think we need to balance good
customer service, letting an individual, a client who submits
his paperwork, have a feeling about how long it is going to
take. And I think that is a fair request of a client.
But at the same time, there is a national security
imperative, and I would just as soon come here at a future date
to have to explain to you why we did not meet a particular
target because there were Homeland Security imperatives than
have to come here and explain to you why we naturalized
somebody that we shouldn't have, or why we adjudicated in a
positive way somebody that was unworthy of that benefit.
Senator Cornyn. I appreciate your answer, but you realize
that Congress is getting ready to make a hard job probably even
more difficult.
Mr. Gonzalez. Yes, sir.
Senator Cornyn. If we take the 10 or 11 million people who
are currently living here out-of-status, who come here in
violation of our laws, and if we create some legal mechanism
for a temporary worker program and have to some way--and I
don't know exactly how we are going to do it yet--transition
that population out of the shadows into the mainstream of
American life, and obviously all without granting amnesty, you
are going to have a huge challenge, not just dealing with the
current population that you have to deal with in terms of
immigration applications, benefit applications, but obviously a
tremendous challenge in terms of trying to correct what I think
is a lack of attention that this country, and particularly the
Federal Government, has historically given to this immigration
problem, which has now risen to crisis proportions.
I am not going to ask you for a definitive answer on how
you are going to do that today, but I will ask you to respond
to a question I will submit to you in writing that I would like
to get the benefit of your thoughts in that regard.
I will turn the gavel now over to Senator Coburn.
Senator Coburn. (presiding) I just have a couple of
questions.
With unanimous consent we will enter into the record a
statement by Senator Pat Roberts in terms of the support of
Julie Myers.
I also would note that the record will be left open for 1
week for written questions by other members of the Committee or
other Senators. It will close next Tuesday, the 25th, at 5 p.m.
Dr. Gonzalez, you were asked a minute ago--or it was
implied you weren't an attorney. I think that is great. Being a
physician myself, I like to see something besides attorneys in
some of our positions.
Mr. Gonzalez. So do I, sir.
Senator Coburn. I don't think it is necessarily a deficit.
And that is not to reflect negatively on attorneys. I love my
son-in-law.
What challenges do you see in front of the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services in the future? You are
looking at this. If confirmed, you are going to have to measure
and assess those challenges. What do you see as those
challenges, and what are your answers to them?
Mr. Gonzalez. Sir, in no priority, but some priority, I
think we just discussed the backlog reduction. I think that is
a key challenge across the board. But I don't want at least
people in U.S. CIS at some point to feel that that is what it
is all about, that we are only here to do backlog reduction and
we are not here to do other things or we are not concerned with
other matters.
Again, the backlog reduction is being addressed. Resources
and technologies are being dedicated. We hope to get there by
the end of September of next year. If confirmed, I will be
tracking that progress regularly just to make sure that we not
only get there, but we get there the right way. And we don't
need to sacrifice national security just to be expedient. I
think we can do both and we should do both, and we should hold
ourselves to that standard.
Another would be IT modernization and transformation. Quite
frankly, from what I have been exposed to, the IT systems at
U.S. CIS are very, very antiquated. In addition to what the
Senator just said before he left, if you layer on top of that
some kind of temporary worker program, I don't think the
systems--in fact, I know the systems that exist right now
wouldn't be able to handle it. So as a result, getting the
right technology, using the very best technology available to
be able to capture all that information for whatever piece of
this temporary worker program is allotted to U.S. CIS, I think,
is important. Again, that is being addressed as we speak,
although obviously, when you are talking about IT
modernization, it is a very expensive situation to have to
undertake. But that having been said, it is a priority for me
and a concern which I will follow up, if confirmed.
The other thing I would like to also address is fraud
detection. U.S. CIS has fraud detection capabilities, and I
think it is incumbent on all of us as professionals--and again,
I come from a national security background--I think we should
service customers that come to us in a dignified and honorable
way. For many of these people, U.S. CIS is the first real face
of American bureaucracy that they experience. In fact, most
people that come to this country are fleeing oppressive
bureaucracies somewhere else. So I think it is incumbent on us
to have a very, very professional staff.
But just like I would require the staff at U.S. CIS to
handle themselves with decorum and integrity, I think I would
also require clients to handle themselves the same way, with
making sure that the documentation that they give is correct;
if it is not correct, to produce a correct document; if it is a
fraudulent document, to do what we need to do at that point.
But again, I want to not just emphasize customer service, but I
want to emphasize the national security aspect of the mission
that U.S. CIS has.
And the other has to do with the temporary worker program.
Whatever comes down the pike in whatever fashion, shape, form,
label, whatever we want to call it, if there is a piece--which
I will be--for U.S. CIS, we need to start preparing for that
now, as opposed to waiting four, five, six, 7 months from now.
Senator Coburn. All right, thank you. You might be
surprised to learn that in 2004 the Federal Government spent
$66 billion on IT. And we don't have what we should to show for
it. So I will promise you that you will get to come before the
Federal Financial Management Committee in terms of how you
spend your money on IT--which happens to be my Subcommittee--so
we can make sure that we get our value for what we are spending
on that.
Mr. Gonzalez. Yes, sir.
Senator Coburn. And I think your comments in terms of
starting to plan now for some type of way on a temporary worker
program, it is incumbent so that you will be ready when the
changes--The changes are coming. The Congress is going to do
it, the American people demand it, it is going to happen. We
are going to control the border. We are going to repatriate
those people to their home countries who are here illegally,
and then we are going to work out something for those positions
in our country that can't be filled by American workers, the
opportunity for others to come here and work.
Mr. Gonzalez. And we would hope to position U.S. CIS to be
able to undertake whatever missions Congress sets out for us.
Again, whatever piece of that pie will go to U.S. CIS, we want
to be ready.
Senator Cornyn. All right. Thank you.
I have no additional questions. We have no other members
here. The record will be left open until Tuesday, the 25th, at
5 p.m.
I thank each of our nominees for being before the Committee
and I look forward to working with you in the future.
The hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:19 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
[Questions and answers and submissions for the record
follow.]
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