Ezell Says He Erred in Prayer at Marcos Party

Harold Ezell, the colorful and controversial western regional commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, said Monday that he made a mistake by leading a prayer for Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos’ return to the Philippines during a party the couple hosted last year in Honolulu.

Ezell denied any impropriety in leading the prayer or by his presence at the Aug. 3 party, even though it came while the U.S. Justice Department--of which the INS is a part--was investigating the former Philippine president and his wife for allegedly diverting government funds to purchase millions of dollars worth of New York real estate. The couple, who fled Manila in 1986 after being forced out of office, were subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the alleged scheme.

The party also occurred at a time when the Marcoses were challenging an INS order restricting their travel to the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

Ezell’s actions at the Marcoses’ party were disclosed Sunday when a Honolulu newspaper obtained a copy of a homemade videotape of the party, which was held at the couple’s posh estate.

On the tape, Ezell, who has been INS western regional commissioner since 1983, is seen leading a prayer for a “miracle” to permit Marcos, 71, and his wife to return to the Philippines. The tape also showed Ezell embracing the deposed Philippine president, dancing with his wife and calling out, at one point: “Eat your heart out!”

“It was an innocent social event that has been blown out of proportion,” Ezell said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas, where he attended a news conference to publicize the second phase of the nation’s amnesty program.

“I--as an individual--was praying for him--as an individual,” Ezell said. “I’m a preacher’s son and prayer is no stranger to me.”

But at the same time, Ezell admitted that he should not have attended the affair. “In view of what has happened since August, there’s absolutely no way we could have attended such an event,” he said.

Ezell was one of several ranking INS officials who attended the party. He said he agreed to attend only after William Craig, the immigration service’s top official in Hawaii, cleared it with superiors in Washington.

Ezell added that he was unaware of the Justice Department probe of Marcos at the time of the party.

Reached late Monday, Ezell said he saw nothing wrong with the prayer. “We were talking about the death of his mother and of my father and his desire to return to the Philippines to bury her,” he said. “I was able to bury my father in Wilmington. And I just felt as one human being to another that we ought to ask God to give him (Ferdinand Marcos) the desire of his heart.”

“We also prayed for peace in the Philippines,” he added.

Ezell added that during the party, he gave little thought to his dance with Imelda Marcos.

“I was just sitting there and then she grabbed me and we started dancing,” he said. “My wife is always kidding me to dance, so I turned to her and said, ‘Eat your heart out!’ ”

Craig, the INS district director in Hawaii, told the Honolulu Advertiser--which obtained the videotape--that he was embarrassed over inviting Ezell and other ranking INS officials to the affair and considered resigning at one point late last year. Craig did not respond Monday to several telephone messages.

Embarrassed INS officials in Washington also had no comment Monday. “What do you want us to say?” one official asked. “We’re aware of the situation.”

Before the tape surfaced, Ezell’s presence at the party had already been investigated.

The INS conducted an internal affairs inquiry because Ezell’s appearance occurred during a time when Marcos was contesting the agency order sharply curtailing his travel rights. The investigation ended by concluding that no laws or ethical guidelines were violated, an INS official said.

At the time of the INS probe, Ezell said that Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were in no position to influence the agency on any pending matter.

Since becoming INS regional commissioner, Ezell has drawn the ire of immigrant rights and minority group activists because of his high-profile, often controversial pronouncements on immigration policy and his sometimes outlandish behavior to draw attention to the nation’s 2-year-old amnesty program.

At various times, Latino groups have called for his dismissal because he was thought to be anti-Latino. He often brushed off such criticism with off-hand comments.

To publicize the amnesty program, Ezell donned a sombrero to sing Mexican ranchera songs at public appearances and even appeared with a trained orangutan at a news conference in Las Vegas. Ezell, who does not speak Spanish, drew laughter when he occasionally began howling during the songs.