Border Patrol Chief Banks Resigns After 16 Months, Citing Time for Family

U.S. Border Patrol leadership changed hands again Thursday when Chief Mike Banks stepped down effective immediately after 16 months in the role. The departure leaves an agency that has reported record-low migrant encounters under the current administration without its top operational commander at a moment when interior enforcement operations continue in multiple cities. Banks, who returned from retirement to take the post in January 2025, told Fox News the decision was personal. "It's just time," he said. "I feel like I got the ship back on course from the least secure disastrous chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen." In a separate message to staff, Banks wrote that he would return to Texas to focus on family and his ranch after 37 years of service. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott praised the outgoing chief for transforming the border "from chaos to the most secure border ever recorded." Banks had previously served as a border adviser to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and held mid-level positions inside the agency before his appointment. His exit follows other high-level changes at the Department of Homeland Security, including the March departure of former Secretary Kristi Noem. No successor has been named. Several outlets reported unverified allegations from a Washington Examiner story that could not be located in public records; CBP previously described related matters as closed after earlier reviews. Operations along the southern border and in select interior cities continue under acting leadership.