Who is Michael Banks? Border czar vows to make Texas 'least desirable place for illegal immigration'
SAN BENITO, TEXAS: Michael Banks, a retired US Border Patrol agent was named Texas's first "border czar" on Monday, January 30 as the state gets firm on illegal migration in the midst of "unprecedented" surge of illegal migrants crossing over the border.
When asked of the new role as border czar, Banks said his priority was "to make the State of Texas the least desirable place for illegal immigration to cross", reported The NY Post.
Announcing the news, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said, "Mike Banks, with his 20+ years in Border Patrol and law enforcement, is the perfect choice to oversee our fight against the surge of illegal immigration, deadly drugs and weapons at our border." Abbott announced the new position as construction on state’s version of a border wall in the town of San Benito continues and added that Banks will focus on responding to “President Biden’s open border policies.”
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Who is Michael Banks?
Banks is originally from Warner Robins, Georgia and now lives in Mission, Texas. Banks is a "retired Border Patrol in Charge, Weslaco station and Navy veteran" with over three decades of federal law enforcement leadership experience. He has an associate’s degree in Administration of Justice from Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from South Texas College. He has 23 years of experience in border security operations and administration along the United States-Mexico border.
He has previously served as the acting deputy chief of Law Enforcement Operational Programs at the USBP headquarters in Washington DC and served as USBP McAllen Station Patrol Agent in Charge, USBP Rio Grande Valley Sector Executive Officer and Acting Division Chief and has held various other USBP leadership positions in Texas, California and Arizona. Banks is also a retired US Navy Military Police officer and has been the recipient of many awards from the Navy and USBP. His Twitter bio reads, "Retired Patrol Agent in Charge, Weslaco station and Navy veteran, with over 33 years combined law enforcement experience. opinions expressed are my own."
“For me, the #1 priority is to make the State of Texas the least desirable place for illegal immigration to cross,” Banks responded when asked about his role.
Texas Immigration rate
US Customs and Border Patrol data showed migrants encounters on the border is at its highest ever with some 2.4 million migrants trying to cross the border in the last fiscal year. According to figures for the last three months released by officials, Border Patrol officers have encountered 162,603 migrants, more than three fold of migrants they saw in the same period, one year ago with 49,000 encounters total. Most of the people trying to make entry in across the border were from Nicaragua, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia and 64% of those migrants were single adults. 49,508, almost a third, were families with kids and the other 8,059 were unaccompanied minor children. According to reports, families arrive in West Texas asking for asylum and surrender themselves to officials leaving law enforcement agencies looking to collect items like car seats, baby formula and diapers to accommodate them.
Peter Jaquez, El Paso Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent, said, “The first quarter of FY2023 demonstrated the complexity of the southwest border, with the recent migrant influx, and the challenges that our agents and migrants face during these times."