U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Protecting national security by enforcing our nation's customs and immigration laws
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About
Leadership
Assistant Secretary,
John T. Morton
John T. Morton is the assistant secretary of homeland security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He leads the principal investigative component of the Department of Homeland Security and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government, with more than 19,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $5 billion.
Mr. Morton came to ICE with an extensive background in federal law enforcement and immigration law and policy. Mr. Morton, who began his federal service in 1994, has held a variety of positions within the Department of Justice, including as a trial attorney and special assistant to the general counsel in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service and as counsel to the deputy attorney general.
From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Morton prosecuted criminal cases as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, first in the Major Crimes Unit and later in the Terrorism and National Security Unit. From 2006 to mid-2009, Mr. Morton served in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, first as the acting chief of the Domestic Security Section and then as the acting deputy assistant attorney general.
Mr. Morton is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
