U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks announced his resignation Thursday, effective immediately, in an interview with Fox News, saying it was “just time” to leave and that he felt he had gotten the agency “back on course” after what he described as prior chaos at the southern border. The resignation was confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security.
Banks’s exit marks the latest leadership shake-up in the agencies executing President Donald Trump’s high‑profile immigration crackdown, and it comes as the Republican administration appears to be recalibrating its approach to mass deportations. The Border Patrol under Banks had been increasingly tapped for immigration enforcement operations inside U.S. cities — operations that, according to the Associated Press, resulted in a spike in arrests and led to the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis this year.
The chief kept a lower public profile than some other agency figures, such as Gregory Bovino, a now‑retired commander who became a public face of the enforcement surge, and Rodney Scott, the Customs and Border Protection commissioner who is a close ally of Trump border czar Tom Homan. Scott thanked Banks in a statement Thursday for his service “during one of the most challenging periods for border security.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it was not clear who will replace Banks.
The leadership transition extends beyond the Border Patrol. Banks’s resignation follows the appointment two months ago of former Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary, and it coincides with a pending change at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Acting ICE director Todd Lyons is leaving later this month and will be succeeded by David Venturella, who previously spent years working for private contractors before returning to government service.
Banks had a long career in the Border Patrol but never rose to its senior ranks until he returned to the agency last year after serving as border czar to Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In that role, he oversaw a multibillion‑dollar state enforcement surge during a period when illegal crossings hit record highs. As chief, he oversaw expanded prosecutions for illegal border crossings and intensified coordination between the Border Patrol and ICE. Arrests for illegal crossings have since fallen sharply, reaching lows not seen since the mid‑1960s — a trend that began toward the end of the Biden administration and continued under Banks.
In an interview published on the CBP website last year, Banks said he was “honored” to return to the agency and declared, “The United States Border Patrol will be unapologetic in its enforcement of our nation’s laws.” On Thursday, he told Fox News he felt he had “got the ship back on course” and that it was “time to enjoy the family and life.”