President Donald Trump nominated two more Texas prosecutors who have furthered his immigration enforcement goals to be federal judges, he announced on social media Wednesday evening.
The president picked acting U.S. Attorney John Marck and Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur "Rob" Jones, both of the Houston-headquartered Southern District of Texas, to serve as judges within the district.
It comes two months after the U.S. Senate confirmed former Southern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei as a federal judge in February. Marck became acting head of the district after Ganjei's resignation in March.
Marck, Trump wrote on Truth Social, has worked tirelessly to "help us deport criminal illegal immigrants" and stop lethal drug trafficking. Jones was a longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney in Laredo before he took the executive role, Trump said.
"(Jones) understands a Strong Border is a matter of National Security, and has powerfully prosecuted Criminal Illegal Immigrants, and fought tirelessly to stop the flow of Illicit Drugs into our Country," Trump wrote.
KERA News has reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas for comment.
The office has put out weekly statistics on immigration and border-related cases since Trump and Ganjei took office. The focused prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that began at the start of Trump's second term targeting criminal activity by those without legal status and other homeland security issues.
Federal judgeships are lifetime appointments. The majority Republican Senate still has to confirm Trump's picks to assume the positions.
There are currently four judicial vacancies in the Southern District of Texas, according to the U.S. federal courts website, all left by judges who have gone into senior status in the past three years.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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