Judge Michael J. Garcia
Judge Michael J. Garcia is one of four candidates to meet with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Assistant Attorney General Rod. J. Rosenstein. If Garcia is selected, he will be the first Latino as FBI Director. Photo: Getty

Judge Michael J. Garcia, from New York, is among the candidates who met with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Assistant Attorney General Rod. J. Rosenstein. Garcia, an associate judge for the New York Court of Appeals, is known for being tough against corruption. If he's considered for office he would be the first Latino in the U.S. history to lead the FBI.

He is also known for command the case a prostitution network involving former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, high-profile terrorism investigations and other criminal corruption cases.

According to NBC News, Garcia battle for the position to replace former FBI Director James Comey, with Andrew G. McCabe, acting director of the FBI; Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Alice Fisher, a former Justice Department official, who may be the first woman to run the agency.

The President of the Hispanic National Bar Association, Pedro J. Torres-Diaz, told NBC Latino that he was glad to hear that Garcia was being considered for the position. "I think this is indeed an example of how there are well-qualified Latinos and Latinas in our legal profession that can occupy important positions in the Cabinet and at other high levels," he said. "We will continue to encourage the administration to look at Latinos and Latinas, so that the judiciary and the executive branches of government become a truer reflection of our community."

Michael J. Garcia's bio and press reports states that he was born in Brooklyn in October 1961. He graduated with honors from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1983, and graduated from Albany Law School in 1989 as valedictorian.

From 1992 to 2001, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; In 2002 Garcia became Acting Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Department of Homeland Security. Garcia was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2005 until 2008.

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