Border Patrol chief resigns, effective immediately

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday confirmed to WORLD that U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks was retiring. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott on Thursday said he wanted to congratulate Banks on what he described as his second retirement and thank him for his decades of service to the United States. He added that he wished Banks and his family well.

“During his time as Chief, the border was transformed from chaos to the most secure border ever recorded,” Scott said in a statement provided to WORLD.

Has Banks said why he was retiring? Banks reportedly announced his retirement first to a Fox News reporter on Thursday via text message. Banks was tapped to serve as the leader of the Border Patrol shortly before President Donald Trump took office last year, according to the Immigration Policy Tracking Project. Banks first retired from the Border Patrol in January 2023, according to The Texan. He received an appointment from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to serve as the state’s border czar that same month.

Dig deeper: Read my report in Compassion about what Americans really think about the Trump administration’s immigration policies.