Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Judge Hong in April 2013. Judge Hong received a bachelor of arts degree in 1992 from The University of Texas at Austin and a juris doctorate in 1995 from The University of Texas School of Law. From February 2011 to April 2013, she served as a senior policy advisor for the Department of Homeland Security, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Washington, D.C. From March 2007 to January 2011, Judge Hong served as counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. From June 2003 to March 2007, she worked for the Asian American Justice Center in Washington, D.C. as an immigration staff attorney and the immigration program director. From January 2000 to May 2003, Judge Hong was a staff attorney for the American Immigration Law Foundation in Washington, D.C. From August 1995 to December 1999, she practiced immigration law with the law firm of Tidwell Swaim & Associates, P.C., in Dallas. Judge Hong is a member of the State Bar of Texas.