[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17838-17839]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING THE RETIREMENT OF ALONZO R. PENA

  (Mr. CUELLAR asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CUELLAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the retirement 
of Alonzo R. Pena, Deputy Director of

[[Page 17839]]

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is the ICE, in the U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security. He has worked to make our communities 
safe through law enforcement for over two decades.
  Mr. Pena is a native of Falfurrias, Texas, where he began his career 
as a Texas State trooper. In 1984, he entered the Federal service as 
part of the ATF in California. After several years, he returned back to 
Texas and worked his way up to Assistant Director for the Smuggling 
Division. Mr. Pena also served as the ICE Special Agent-in-Charge in 
San Antonio, Houston, and Phoenix.
  He played a key role in the creation of the ICE's Border Enforcement 
Security Task Force (BEST) initiative, which developed a comprehensive 
approach to combat cross-border crime and which started there in my 
hometown of Laredo.
  Deputy Director Pena has led efforts to foster increased 
counternarcotics and law enforcement cooperation with Mexico as the 
State Department's senior diplomat to the Government of Mexico at the 
U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.
  As the current Deputy Director of ICE, Mr. Pena has assisted 
intelligence-driven investigations through the assistance of and 
relationships with Federal, State, local, and international partners.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize the unique dedication, 
commitment, and leadership of ICE Deputy Director Alonzo Pena, and his 
family.

                          ____________________