León Rodríguez (born 1962) is an American lawyer who headed
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and Immigration to the United States, immigration system.
History
...
under President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. He previously served as director the Office for Civil Rights of the
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
, as chief of staff and deputy assistant attorney general for the
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin.
The division was established on December 9, 1957, b ...
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, to a Jewish Cuban family. His parents, Isaac and Sarah (Policar) Rodríguez, had grown up in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.the first wave of the
Cuban exodus
The Cuban post-revolution exodus is the decades long continuous emigration of Cubans from the island of Cuba that has occurred since the conclusion of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Throughout the exodus, millions of Cubans from diverse social ...
. Rodríguez's grandparents were Jews from Turkey and Poland; his paternal grandfather and namesake, born "Leon Rodrik," immigrated to Cuba from Turkey in the 1920s.
Rodríguez grew up speaking Spanish at home. When was four years old, his parents moved the family from New York to
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
.
Marriage
Shortly after graduating from law school, Rodríguez married Jill Schwartz, an
obstetrician
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...
. The couple went on to have two children: a daughter and a son.
Career
Rodríguez began his career as a
prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin.
The division was established on December 9, 1957, b ...
and in the
United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, before moving to the Washington, D.C. area to enter private practive. In 2007, he was appointed as county attorney of Montgomery County, Maryland.
After rejoining the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division for a brief tenure as chief of staff and deputy assistant attorney general, he was appointed director the Office for Civil Rights of the
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
nominated him to serve as the director of
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and Immigration to the United States, immigration system.
History
...
.
References
External links
* at
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and Immigration to the United States, immigration system.
History
...