| Department of Justice FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AG ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT APPOINTS KEVIN D.
ROONEY WASHINGTON, D.C. –
Attorney General John Ashcroft announced today that Kevin
D. Rooney will serve as Acting Commissioner of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), effective
on April 2. Rooney, currently the Director of the
Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), will
serve until a permanent INS Commissioner is appointed. "Kevin's broad-based
management experience within Justice and his knowledge of
immigration issues at the helm of the EOIR will help make
the interim transition virtually seamless," said
Ashcroft. Rooney has served as the
Director of the EOIR since January 1999. EOIR oversees
the immigration court system, including the Board of
Immigration Appeals and 52 immigration courts nationwide.
Rooney previously served as Deputy Director of EOIR from
1995 - 1997. As the Assistant Attorney
General for Administration from 1977 - 1984, Rooney
served as the Department of Justice's senior career
official and chief management and financial officer under
three Attorney's General during the Carter and Reagan
Administrations. He was Assistant Director of the Bureau
of Prisons from 1997 - 1999, and practiced law in
Washington, D.C. from 1984 - 1995. "I have a great
appreciation for the work of INS and the dedication of
its employees. I look forward to this outstanding
opportunity to lead the agency in the coming
months," Rooney said. Rooney replaces Acting
Commissioner Mary Ann Wyrsch, who was recently appointed
United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees. Her
selection was announced on February 28 to be effective
early April. Rooney is a native of
Palmer, Massachusetts and a graduate of St. Mary's
Seminary and University and George Washington University
School of Law. He and his wife, Annette, live in McLean,
Virginia and have two daughters: Katie, 25, and Mary
Beth, 18. Rooney is a U.S. Army veteran. ### 01-95 |