Thomas Crooks Ferguson (November 27, 1933, in

Henderson, Kentucky Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and is the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as the ...

– June 28, 2021, in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

) was a United States Ambassador to Brunei and a former US government official. He served as deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Early life and education

Ferguson was born November 27, 1933, in Henderson, Kentucky. Ferguson graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

(B.A., 1955) and

Vanderbilt Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

(J.D., 1959). He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1956.

Career

Ferguson began his career as an attorney with Woodson, Pattisall & Garner in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 1959–1960. In August 1960, he served on the campaign staff of Senator John S. Cooper in Washington, D.C., until November 1960. He then joined the law firm of Sandidge, Hollbrook & Craig in Owensboro, Kentucky, and was an attorney there until 1963. From 1963 to 1975, he was marketing manager, Pharmaseal Labs, Inc., in Glendale, California. Ferguson then became owner and president of Brevard Marina, Inc., Marina & Shipyard in

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...

, until 1977 - 1982, when he became owner and president of Atlantic Salvage Systems (underwater exploration) in

Indialantic, Florida Indialantic (officially incorporated as Indialantic-By-The-Sea, though the official name is seldom used in casual parlance) is a town in Brevard County, Florida. The town's population was 2,720 at the 2010 United States Census. It is part of the ...

. In 1982 he joined the government as director for the Eastern Caribbean with the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

. In 2012, Ferguson joined GFIT Ventures as a strategic advisor specializing on Intel and International clients where he continues to work today.

Immigration and Naturalization Service

From 1984 to 1987 Ferguson was deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the United States

Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...

in Washington, D.C. There he maintained the full responsibility for the overall management and operation of over 16,000 employees. As deputy commissioner Ferguson led early calls for reform. His ideas would ultimately end up in the

Immigration Act of 1990 The Immigration Act of 1990 () was signed into law by George H. W. Bush on November 29, 1990. It was first introduced by Ted Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy in 1989. It was a national reform of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It increase ...

. Mr. Ferguson's main contributions to the Act were Border Security and the concept of Employment Based Visas, including the innovative EB-5 immigrant investor visa.

Ambassador to Brunei

On April 8, 1987, he was nominated to be the ambassador Ambassador of the United States to Brunei Darussalam. He would succeed Barrington King. There he was

chief of mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, perman ...

, responsible for all components of the U.S. Embassy 1987–1989. While serving as ambassador, he promoted military sales and U.S. business in country and U.S. government interests in region.

Death

Ambassador Ferguson died on June 28, 2021, in Jacksonville, Florida. He was 87 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Thomas C. 1933 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Brunei People from Henderson, Kentucky American chief operating officers Vanderbilt University alumni Vanderbilt University Law School alumni