ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott recalls 9/11

My name is Russ Hott. I serve as a field office director in enforcement and removal operations. I started my career as a detention enforcement officer with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and worked my way up to deputy executive associate director for ERO.

I think back to September 11th, 2001 and I'm filled with a flood of emotion. I had to begin my career as a detention enforcement officer and when I joined with the INS, it was with the intent that I was going to use that as a launch pad to go somewhere else in the federal government. That fateful day happened and it hit me like a ton of bricks and I realized the criticality of the work that we do.

And as you watch those buildings burn and and people whose lives were forever changed I knew at that particular moment that I wanted to be a part of this. There was a case that we had gone out after two brothers from El Salvador. We located them pretty quickly and arrested them and brought them back into custody.

And it was at that particular moment, right, that the story started to unravel. These two gentlemen had apparently murdered a US geologist and his family. We tracked down those men and brought them to justice.

There was a call between the US Embassy ourselves and the family. And the family broke down in tears, crying and thanking us. And those are the moments that you don't get from other career choices.

Those are the moments where you realize that you've made a difference in somebody else's life.