WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday nominated U.S. Border Patrol veteran Jason Owens to lead the agency, replacing retiring Chief Raul Ortiz.
In a statement announcing Owens’ promotion, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “Chief Owens is a talented, selfless and inspirational leader who is dedicated to the Patrol’s law enforcement mission Border, to the men and women who fulfill it and to the country that fulfills it. We all serve.”
“I am inspired by his commitment to the mission and grateful for his continued service in this new leadership role,” Mayorkas added.
The New York Times reported that Owens has been with the Border Patrol for more than 20 years, most recently as chief of the Del Rio division in Texas.
Ortiz said last month in a staff memo obtained by The Associated Press that he will leave on June 30.
Ortiz managed the Border Patrol and its approximately 20,000 agents through the COVID-19 pandemic and the Title 42 emergency health restrictions that began in March 2020 and allowed agents to quickly return migrants to the southern border .
He also oversaw the rollout of new policies on May 11 aimed at deterring migrants from crossing illegally while opening other legal avenues. The number of crossings is down and the border has not seen the high number of crossings or the chaos even President Joe Biden predicted with the end of restrictions.
