U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Gil Kerlikowske, has named FBI assistant director, Mark Morgan, as the new chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, though he has no prior experience with the agency. This is the first time in the Border Patrol’s 92-year-old history that the chief has been chosen from outside the agency.
In an interview with the LA Times Rosemary Jenks, Director of Government Relations for NumbersUSA, said, “It basically is saying that the existing border agents don't know what they are doing and need an outsider to come in from a totally separate branch of law enforcement and tell them how to do their jobs — it's offensive.”
The union that represents Border Patrol agents, The National Border Patrol Council, released a statement voicing their disappointment but saying they are willing to work with the new chief.
“We would ask Chief Morgan to remember that the men and women working on the border everyday are the real experts in border security, and that it would behoove him to hear and act upon their concerns and suggestions. This is an agency with a long tradition of service and a commitment to its mission that has few parallels. The Border Patrol has a unique mission that is reflected in its culture and we realize it will be difficult for an outsider to quickly gain the trust and respect of his subordinates,” the NBPC said in its statement.
It also warned that if the new chief does not do his best to enforce immigration laws the NBPC, “will not pause in [their] mission to bring the truth about the border to light or as the voice of 16,500 Border Patrol agents.”
This unconventional appointment comes during a time when Border Agents are continuing to struggle with the surge of illegal aliens crossing the border. In April 2016 alone 38,000 illegal aliens were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, this is the highest number caught since the 2014 border surge. Also policies such as Pres. Obama’s reinstated “catch and release” policy have limited Border Patrol officers’ ability to capture and deport many of the incoming illegal border crossers.
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