U.S. Border Patrol chief Michael Banks is resigning, in latest DHS leadership change

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks speaks to reporters during the visit to the US-Mexico border by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Sunland Park, N.M., Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

WASHINGTON — The head of the federal agency that patrols the borders of the United States says he is resigning.

The U.S. Border Patrol chief, Michael Banks, told Fox News in an interview Thursday that his resignation was effective immediately.

“It’s just time,” Banks was quoted as saying in a report on the Fox News website. “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,” he said.

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Associated Press