Governor Greg Abbott right now introduced the new place of Texas Border Czar to supervise border safety in President Joe Biden’s absence at a press convention on a Texas border wall building website in San Benito. Mike Banks has been employed as Special Advisor on Border Matters to the Governor and can function the State of Texas’ first-ever Border Czar.
“For nearly two years, the State of Texas has taken unprecedented, historic action under Operation Lone Star in response to the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border,” mentioned Governor Abbott. “To continue doing what no other state in the history of our country has done to secure the border, I hired Mike Banks as the State of Texas’ first-ever Border Czar. As an award-winning Border Patrol Agent, with decades of federal law enforcement and border security experience, Mike is the perfect choice to oversee Texas’ fight against the surge of illegal immigration, lethal drugs, and deadly weapons flowing into our state and nation. I have no doubt that Mike’s strong record of leadership and wealth of experience will provide Texans—and Americans—the level of border security expertise they deserve from a proper Border Czar.”
The Governor was joined for the announcement by Border Czar Banks, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Steve McCraw, and Texas Military Department (TMD) Major General Thomas Suelzer.
“I am humbled to be selected by Governor Abbott for this opportunity,” mentioned Border Czar Banks. “Protecting our nation’s border is something I have dedicated the last 23 years of my life to, and I am very passionate about it. I look forward to strengthening our relationships with law enforcement partners and the community, leveraging all that we can to further protect our great state of Texas and the United States.”
“No Governor has dedicated more time, energy, and effort in terms of public safety, homeland security, and border security than Governor Abbott,” mentioned Director Steve McCraw. “I welcome Mike Banks to the Texas team as we continue working to secure the border.”
“I applaud Governor Abbott for selecting Mike Banks as Texas’ Border Czar,” mentioned Major General Suelzer. “The Texas National Guard and I look forward to working with Mike in our mission to protect Texans as we secure the border.”
Border Czar Banks will report on to Governor Abbott and guarantee border safety methods are totally executed in Texas in the absence of significant federal motion. He will collaborate each day with TMD, DPS, and different state businesses, native officers, and Texas landowners to hold out Operation Lone Star’s mission of deterring and repelling migrants from illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico. Border Czar Banks can even advise the Governor on border safety conditions and techniques, together with the planning of operations forward of migrant surges, like that of El Paso in December 2022. To greatest serve Texans and Americans, Border Czar Banks will likely be based mostly out of Weslaco and journey alongside the border, and state, as vital.
Mike Banks of Mission is a former U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Weslaco Station Patrol Agent in Charge. Banks has over three a long time of federal regulation enforcement management expertise, with 23 years in border safety operations and administration alongside the United States-Mexico border. He beforehand served as Acting Deputy Chief of Law Enforcement Operational Programs at the USBP headquarters in Washington, D.C., USBP McAllen Station Patrol Agent in Charge, USBP Rio Grande Valley Sector Executive Officer and Acting Division Chief, and different varied USBP management positions in Texas, Arizona, and California. He can be a former member of the U.S. Navy Military Police. Banks holds an affiliate’s diploma in Administration of Justice from Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, a bachelor’s diploma in Organizational Leadership from South Texas College, and different awards from the U.S. Navy and USBP.
Governor Abbott has taken unprecedented action to secure the border in the wake of the federal authorities’s inaction, together with:
- Securing $4 billion in funding for Texas’ border safety efforts
- Launching Operation Lone Star and deploying 1000’s of Texas National Guard troopers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers
- Taking aggressive motion to help border communities, together with busing 1000’s of migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia
- Designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations to maintain Texans secure amid the rising nationwide fentanyl disaster
- Arresting and jailing criminals trespassing or committing different state crimes alongside the southern border
- Issuing an govt order authorizing the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to return unlawful immigrants to the border at ports of entry
- Allocating sources to accumulate 1,700 unused metal panels to construct the border wall in Texas
- Signing a regulation to make it simpler to prosecute smugglers bringing individuals into Texas
- Signing 15 legal guidelines cracking down on human trafficking in Texas
- Signing a regulation enhancing penalties for the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl
- Issuing a catastrophe declaration for the border disaster
- Issuing an govt order stopping non-governmental entities from transporting unlawful immigrants
- Signing memoranda of understanding between the State of Texas and the States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to reinforce border safety measures of their states that can forestall unlawful immigration from Mexico to Texas
- Activating the Joint Border Security Operations Center (JBSOC) and directing the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Military Department, and Texas Division of Emergency Management to coordinate Texas’ response to safe the border
Read more on additional actions taken by the Governor to secure the border.
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