The Trump administration has selected a veteran Border Patrol official with more than 26 years of service to lead the agency following the resignation of former Chief Mike Banks.U.S.Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Monday that Rosario "Pete" Vasquez will serve as the next chief of the U.S.
Border Patrol, overseeing nearly 20,000 agents and professional staff operating across the country.Vasquez most recently led the Border Patrol's Blaine Sector in Washington state, overseeing operations along the U.S.-Canada border and coordinating with federal, state, local, tribal and international partners.CBP Commissioner Rodney S.Scott praised the appointment, calling Vasquez "a Border Patrol agent's agent."US BORDER PATROL CHIEF MIKE BANKS ABRUPTLY RESIGNS, FOX NEWS LEARNSRosario "Pete" Vasquez has been appointed chief of the U.S.
Border Patrol, where he will oversee nearly 20,000 agents and professional staff nationwide.(U.S.
Customs and Border Protection)"He has spent more than two decades leading from the front, earning the respect of the workforce, and delivering results in some of the most challenging operational environments in the country," Scott said in a statement."He understands what this mission demands because he has lived it.
There is no one better suited to lead the United States Border Patrol into its next chapter."Vasquez succeeds former Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, who announced his retirement in May after leading the agency during President Donald Trump's second administration.Banks told Fox News last month that he was stepping down after helping oversee what he described as a dramatic turnaround in border security.BORDER PATROL CHIEF OWENS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT, TEXAS BORDER CZAR TO TAKE OVERU.S.Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks speaks during an event.
(Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)"I feel like I got the ship back on course from the least secure, disastrous, chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen," Banks told F...