[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO SARAH R. SALDANA

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today I would like to pay tribute to a 
dedicated public servant and Texan, Sarah R. Saldana. Ms. Saldana is 
stepping down as Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 
ICE, and retiring after many years of Federal service.
  Born as the youngest of seven children to working-class parents in 
Corpus Christi, TX, Director Saldana learned the importance of hard 
work and education at a young age. After she graduated from W.B. Ray 
High School in 1970, Director Saldana attended Del Mar Junior College 
and graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M, formerly Texas A&I, 
University in 1973. Shortly thereafter, she began her career as an 8th 
grade language arts teacher at D.A. Hulcy Middle School in Dallas. 
Later, she worked as a technician for the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, EEOC, and as an investigator and management intern for the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD. Additionally, she 
worked as a Federal Representative for the Department of Labor 
Employment and Training Administration until 1981.
  Ms. Saldana then decided to pursue a legal education at Southern 
Methodist University, SMU, in Dallas, TX, where she earned her J.D. in 
1984. Following graduation, she clerked for the Honorable U.S. District 
Judge Barefoot Sanders. As a trial attorney, Director Saldana was an 
associate for the law firms of Haynes and Boone, and then Baker Botts, 
where she became partner in their trial department.
  In 2004, she returned to public service and became an assistant U.S. 
attorney for the Northern District of Texas, where she prosecuted a 
variety of criminal cases. She also served as the deputy criminal chief 
in charge of the district's major fraud and public corruption section.
  In 2011, Ms. Saldana was nominated and confirmed to become the first 
Latina United States attorney in the history of Texas and only the 
second woman to hold that position in the 135-year history of Texas' 
Northern District--a region that includes the Dallas-Fort Worth 
Metroplex and spans 100 counties and stretches across 95,000 square 
miles.
  In 2014, Ms. Saldana was confirmed to lead the U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement. As ICE's Director, she helped to oversee the 
largest investigative agency within the Department of Homeland Security 
and to protect the safety and security of the United States.
  Throughout her career, she has served with integrity and character. 
Ms. Saldana has served the people of Texas and the United States with 
honor--fighting illegal immigration, public corruption, organized 
crime, sexual predators, and other dangerous criminals.
  Her legacy will continue to benefit the American people and I join 
with her family, friends, and coworkers in saying that her experience 
and dedication to public service will be missed.
  I offer my appreciation to Sarah R. Saldana for her service to our 
Nation and send my best wishes for the years ahead.

                          ____________________