After leading the agency since June 2023, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced he would retire in April. Owens, appointed by President Biden as the 26th Chief of the United States Border Patrol, served the agency for nearly three decades.
Biden appointed Owens to lead the agency after the retirement of former Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz during one of the busiest years for migrant crossings in the agency’s history. At the time of his appointment, Owens was the Chief of the Del Rio Sector, overseeing the agency’s operations in one of the busiest sectors in the nation.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a statement on Owen’s pending retirement:
Chief Owens has dedicated his life to public service. Throughout his career in the Border Patrol, from his first assignment at Calexico Station to his command of the elite BORTAC unit in El Paso, from his leadership of the USBP Academy to the Laredo Sector, Del Rio Sector, Washington, D.C., and many duty stations in-between, he has always stepped up and stepped in whenever the challenges have been greatest, and wherever his talents have been most needed. He rose through the ranks of the Border Patrol by virtue of his extraordinary leadership and his bravery, integrity, and decency.
Elaborating on Owens’s ability to lead the agency, Mayorkas added, “It is these qualities that made Chief Owens the best and right person to lead the Border Patrol during an intensely difficult time. I am grateful that he accepted the challenge, just as he has accepted so many others throughout his distinguished law enforcement career.”
In a Fox News interview following his retirement announcement, Owens was asked about the surge in border crossings the agency dealt with under his leadership, including the migrant surge in 2021 in Del Rio and the surge in Eagle Pass, Texas. Owens told Fox, “I hadn’t seen anything like that. And it’s that was as bad as I had seen it in my entire career. And at every moment, the men and women are trying to find a way to take care of that so they could get back out there on patrol and keep the bad actors from coming in.”
Owens hails from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and grew up as a member of the Cherokee tribe. He was the third chief to lead Border Patrol under the Biden administration. A replacement for Owens has not been formally announced, but a source within Customs and Border Protection has revealed to Breitbart Texas current Texas Border Czar Mike Banks is a likely candidate.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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