The New York Post is reporting that President-elect Trump has picked the man Texas Gov. Abbott named earlier as the first-ever Texas Border Czar to head the US Border Patrol. Mike Banks, a former Border Patrol officer himself, will head the 64,000-member agency in the upcoming Trump administration.
Appointed in 2023 by Abbott to the newly created state Border Czar position, Banks said at the time: “For me, the #1 priority is to make the State of Texas the least desirable place for illegal immigration to cross.”
The Texas native has more than three decades of federal law enforcement leadership experience, including 23 years devoted to the US-Mexico border. He is also a veteran of the US Navy Military Police.
Brent Smith, attorney for Kinney County, on the border, tweeted about Banks’s suitability for his new job:
There is no one more qualified to take on this mission than Mike Banks. His experience in both Border Patrol and as the Texas border czar places him in the perfect position to execute President Trumps border security mission.
For more, see the NY Post.