Ezell Bows Out in Favored Arena--the Media Event

Harold Ezell put in his last appearance Monday as the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Western regional commissioner in a final news conference that played like the hundreds of others he had conducted over the last 6 1/2 years.

Ezell was notified Monday morning by the U.S. attorney general’s office that his pro forma resignation--made earlier this year to President George Bush--had been accepted as of the close of the business day. The action by Edward S. G. Dennis Jr., the acting deputy attorney general, followed last week’s ouster of INS Commissioner Alan Nelson.

During his last public appearance for the INS, the high-profile, former fast-food executive preached his usual hard-boiled gospel of immigration control. But Ezell, 52, also had to fight back tears.

“We are really committed to the people of the INS because they’ve been terrific,” Ezell said in a quavering voice that trailed off. “And, uh, that’s about it. . . .”

Quickly regaining his composure, Ezell introduced his temporary successor, Robert M. Moschorak, who had been his top aide in charge of the day-to-day operations in the region, which includes California, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada and Guam.

Ezell wanted to stay in his post until November, 1990, the end of the second phase of the landmark amnesty program. But David Runkel, the chief spokesman for the Justice Department, confirmed in mid-May what many were saying privately within the Bush Administration: Ezell’s days were numbered.

Several ranking officials within the Justice Department--of which the INS is part--said Ezell’s attendance last July at a Honolulu party hosted by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos and accounts of his dancing and praying at the affair did not help his chances.

But while Monday’s action was not unexpected, staff members said Ezell was nevertheless hurt by it. “Somber is the way the office was when he found out about it,” one INS official said.

Ezell nevertheless went before the reporters and tried to put the situation in perspective.

“You never come into a deal like this thinking you’ve been appointed to a lifetime on the federal bench,” he said. “We’ve got lots of things to be proud of. We have served our country well. I’ve never worked so hard, made so little money and had so much fun.”

He did not miss the opportunity to reiterate his favorite theme--control of the nation’s borders.

“I would have proposed immigration reform in 1982 instead of ’86 (when the amnesty proposal became law),” he said. “I think that span of time gave us nothing more but more illegal immigration without any help to regain control of the border. We don’t control them now.”

The news conference became Ezell’s favorite tool after his appointment in March, 1983. He used the conferences--sometimes as many as half a dozen a week--to promote the agency and the amnesty provision of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. He was not afraid to sing Mexican ranchera songs, even though he does not speak Spanish, to ballyhoo the immigration service.

Sometimes, his publicity schemes fell flat. Several off-the-cuff remarks about illegal aliens angered Latino activists. A plan to appear in Las Vegas with a trained orangutan went awry when the ape failed to show. But Ezell, ever the showman, quickly recovered and recruited an Elvis Presley impersonator to promote amnesty.

On Monday, Ezell said he had suffered “great pain” from accusations that he was anti-Latino. “If you speak out strongly, the cheapest shot they can use is to say a person is anti-one group or another,” he said.

His temporary replacement, Moschorak, 48, of Anaheim, would like to be Ezell’s permanent successor. Moschorak praised his former boss for his “progressive leadership” of the INS Western region.

“Mr. Ezell’s guidance is one (thing) I certainly personally and professionally will remember for a long time,” said Moschorak, who has been in the INS for nearly 25 years.

Word of Ezell’s ouster upstaged what was to have been the day’s main topic within INS--the retirement of Ernest Gustafson, the INS district director in Los Angeles. Gustafson, who also praised Ezell, said he will retire from his post Sept. 16 but declined to discuss his plans.

Toward the end of the news conference, Ezell seemed to back away his previous disavowal of any plans to seek elective office. “I’m open for public service in the future,” he said in response to a question.

“Elective office?” a reporter asked.

“If that’s the opportunity that’s right,” he replied.

Then, with a “God bless all of you and thanks a lot,” his final news conference was over.