[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  A TRIBUTE TO THOMAS SCHILTGEN, DIRECTOR OF INS LOS ANGELES DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 13, 2002

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to pay 
tribute to Thomas J. Schiltgen, who has performed a near-miracle in the 
past three years as District Director for the Los Angeles District of 
the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Coming into the busiest--
and most troubled--office in our immigration system, Mr. Schiltgen 
turned the Los Angeles District into one of the most efficient in the 
nation.
  Thomas Schiltgen joined the INS out of college in 1975 as a Criminal 
Investigator in Chicago. He moved up through the ranks, and served in a 
wide range of positions that included Deputy Director in the agency's 
Bangkok office. Before taking over the Los Angeles office, he served 
for four years as Director of the INS San Francisco District.
  When he was assigned to take over the Los Angeles District, the 
office was known throughout the country for crowds lining up every day 
in a desperate attempt to work through the immigration process. The 
office averaged 24 months to process routine citizenship and legal 
immigration cases. More than 400,000 cases awaited resolution.
  Winning the respect of his own staff and the immigration support 
community, Mr. Schiltgen has managed to virtually eliminate the backlog 
and has reduced the waiting time to as little as six months for most 
naturalization and adjustment of status cases. The efficiency of the 
office was shown dramatically this year when nearly 5,000 applications 
were handled in a single day at the end of a family reunification 
program.
  Mr. Speaker, although the Los Angeles District serves all of Southern 
California, I want to pay special tribute to Mr. Schiltgen on behalf of 
the Inland Empire. Under his leadership, the INS has opened a wonderful 
new office in San Bernardino, and provided a much wider range of 
services closer to home for thousands of immigrants who live and work 
in my district. The new INS office is an asset to the downtown of my 
home town, and provides a warm and professional face for the federal 
government in the city.
  Mr. Schiltgen has also opened an expanded service center in Orange 
County, and has helped redesign the main INS facility in Los Angeles to 
provide heightened privacy, convenience and service for those who have 
come to our nation seeking the American dream.
  Mr. Speaker, after 27 years with the INS, Thomas Schiltgen has 
decided to retire and pursue opportunities in the private sector. I ask 
you and my colleagues to please join me in thanking him for providing 
such high-quality public service, and wish him and his wife Brenda well 
in their future endeavors.

                          ____________________