Sarah Ruth Saldana is an American attorney who served as the fourth director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from December 23, 2014,[1] until January 20, 2017, under President Barack Obama.

Ray High School in 1970 and attended and got al associate degree from Del Mar Junior College.

[3][4][5] After teaching eighth grade language arts in Dallas, she began working in June 1974 for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a technician, then in 1975 she became a management intern for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, returning to the EEOC as an investigator later in 1975.

[4] She then moved to the large law firm Baker Botts for 11 years as a trial attorney, first as an associate, then from 1994-1998 as a partner.

[3] Cases she prosecuted included bank and mortgage fraud, civil rights, human trafficking, and public corruption.

[12] Her answer to critics was that she was required to follow the laws and the decisions of courts, and she defended the removal prioritization of public safety and national security threats, multiple offenders, and recent border crossers.

In June 2018, Saldaña, then retired and living in Dallas, Texas, spoke out publicly against Trump administration “zero-tolerance” immigration policies.

Stuff that impacts the American public much more than an immigrant working on your front lawn.”[17] She wrote an OpEd in Time magazine to the same effect.

[19] On April 27, 2021, Saldaña gave an interview to the CBS News Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate calling for Congress to pass immigration reform, saying “the system is overwhelmed” and “legislation is the best fix, not a temporary Band Aid here and there”.

Among Saldaña's awards and recognitions are the 2017 Dallas Women Lawyers Louise B. Raggio Award, 2015 Southern Methodist University Distinguished Hispanic Alumna; 2014 Trailblazer of the Year, Hispanic Women's Network of Texas; 2012 Southern Methodist University Law Distinguished Alumna – Government Service; 2012 La Luz Achievement, Dallas Hispanic Bar Association; and the 2012 Mujeres en Acción (Women in Action), UT Chicano/Hispanic Law Students Association.