Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Top Lawyer resigned this week. Peter S. Vincent served as the Principal Legal Advisor for the Department of Homeland Security for the last six years. Specific reasons for his resignation were not given. “I have decided that the time is right for me to make a change and to move on to other opportunities and challenges,” he wrote in an email sent on Tuesday afternoon. His lack of explanation has fueled speculations across media sites.
However ICE Spokeswoman Gillian Christensen denied Vincent’s resignation had any correlation to President Obama’s expected moves on Immigration Executive Action.
“Any insinuation that his departure is a reflection on ICE efforts to focus resources through prosecutorial discretion, or any possible administrative action related to immigration reform is inaccurate and a discredit to the tireless work he has performed for the agency over the past six years,” Christensen said. Vincent’s “true passion lies in legal and international affairs and that is what he is planning to pursue in the next phase of his career,” she added.
Prior to his position as Principal Legal Advisor, Vincent served as Acting Director of International Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security as well as a Judicial Attache for the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Columbia.
I had the privilege of working side by side with Peter when we were both Trial Attorneys at the Office of Chief Counsel in San Francisco, California. He was a zealous advocate for Justice and aggressively pursued foreign nationals that constituted a major threat to national security. I look forward to his announcement of his next move and wish him all the best.
Source: Headline & Global News
