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Trump to install Texas border czar as Border Patrol chief, sources say

By Camilo Montoya-Galvez

January 16, 2025 / 7:19 PM EST / CBS News

The incoming Trump administration is planning to install Texas' border czar as head of U.S. Border Patrol, replacing the career official who currently leads the agency in charge of stopping the illicit movement of migrants and drugs.

Mike Banks, who has spearheaded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's border crackdown, is expected to be appointed Border Patrol chief after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, two sources familiar with the move told CBS News Thursday.

Banks would replace current Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, a 28-year veteran career official at the agency. Owens is set to retire from government service in April, two U.S. officials told CBS News.

In an internal message sent to agents Thursday and obtained by CBS News, Owens said the opportunity to serve as Border Patrol chief was "the highest honor I have ever received."

"Looking ahead, I will leave with a profound sense of optimism about its future and that of our country," Owens wrote. "I will take comfort knowing that you are on our frontline, standing between the innocent and the evil."

Banks' appointment would be a departure from the general practice of Border Patrol having leaders that are career government officials, not political appointees.

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, Banks has been a key player in Texas' aggressive effort to counter what the state has argued is the Biden administration's failure to secure the southern border amid record levels of migrant crossings.