Thread: Customs commissioner to leave post at end of month

Customs commissioner to leave post at end of month
wstcwnlk.com
By ALICIA A. CALDWELL
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:00 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011

WASHINGTON — The head of Customs and Border Protection will leave his post at the end of the month.

The agency said Commissioner Alan Bersin told President Barack Obama on Thursday that he intended to leave office Dec. 30, the day before his appointment to the job expires.

David Aguilar, former chief of the Border Patrol and the number two official at CBP, has been named the acting commissioner.

Obama nominated Bersin to head the agency in September 2009 and appointed him commissioner in March 2010, after the Senate didn't act on the nomination. Bersin was one of 15 officials to receive a recess appointment that year.

In a statement, Bersin said he was "proud of the significant and meaningful achievements we have made on our borders and at our nation's ports of entry over nearly two years." Bersin served as Obama's border czar, a post the administration created to focus on issues related to illegal immigration and relations with Mexico in its war against drug cartels, before being elevated to head of CBP. He also previously helped coordinate law enforcement efforts at the Mexican border during the Clinton administration while he was working at the Justice Department.

http://www.wstcwnlk.com/ap/ap/defens...f-month/nF7pw/

Customs And Border Commissioner Alan Bersin Resigns

huffingtonpost.com
by Andrea Stone
Updated: 12/22/11 03:28 PM ET


Alan Bersin, second from left, toured a cargo facility in El Paso, Texas, in May with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and President Obama.

WASHINGTON -- Time's up for the head of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who announced Thursday he is stepping down at the end of the year when his recess appointment expires.

Alan Bersin served as the administration's Southwest "border czar" on undocumented immigration and drug smuggling. President Obama nominated him to be CBP commissioner in September 2009, and appointed him commissioner in March 2010 after the Senate failed to confirm him.

"My service as Commissioner has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my public life," Bersin said in a statement. "I am immensely proud of the significant and meaningful achievements we have made on our borders and at our nation's ports of entry over nearly two years."

Bersin was one of 15 officials to be given temporary recess appointments in 2010 after their nominations stalled in the Senate. In November, Don Berwick, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a lightening rod in the battle of health care reform, resigned from his temporary job before it expired at the end of the year.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano thanked Bersin for this service. "During his tenure, CBP has taken historic steps to secure our borders while facilitating legal travel and trade," she said in a statement, adding that he has "also been instrumental in facilitating new international agreements and public-private partnerships as well as developing new paradigms throughout the world in combating terrorism and international crime."

But Bersin's resignation came the same day that the Government Accountability Office released a report criticizing the agency for the way it trains and keeps track of newly hired officers, given recent incidents involving potential terrorists attempting to enter the country. It said covert tests conducted over two years found "significant weaknesses" in inspection routines at several ports of entry, and that more than 4,000 customs officers have not completed required training on "immigration fundamentals, immigration law, and agricultural fundamentals courses." The watchdog agency recommended better training and recordkeeping for new officers.

Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar will serve as acting commissioner until Obama nominates a new commissioner.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1...ington+Post%29

Customs and Border Protection Chief Announces Resignation

By Mike Levine
Published December 22, 2011
| FoxNews.com

The head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced he is resigning, calling his relatively short tenure -- the product of a presidential recess appointment -- "one of the most rewarding experiences of my public life."

Alan Bersin, who had been the Obama administration's point man on border security issues, took the helm of nation's customs and border efforts in March last year after being among 15 officials installed by President Obama without Senate confirmation.

Thursday morning, Bersin notified Obama he would be leaving at the end of the month.

In a statement afterward, Bersin said it has been his "honor" to work with his CBP colleagues, and he is "immensely proud of the significant and meaningful achievements" they have made during his tenure.

"Through innovative solutions and strengthened partnerships, we have measurably strengthened border security, enhanced our ability to prevent potential terror threats, streamlined the entry process for lawful trade, and expanded our trusted traveler programs," Bersin said.

More than a year ago, Bersin said he "absolutely" planned to stay at CBP beyond what his recess appointment, which requires the Senate to approve his nomination to serve beyond the congressional term. Bersin said he had hoped to prove himself to skeptical members of Congress in the months ahead.

"Recess appointments have a history in all administrations, and I expect over time that people will come to see that it was a good choice, and I look forward to that. I look forward to earning that confidence with members of Congress," he told a group of reporters in April 2010, a month after becoming commissioner.

But the commissioner, who was first nominated to take the job in September 2009, was criticized by some in the Senate for failing to document the employment eligibility of those working in his home. As head of an agency responsible for protecting the borders, that remains an issue.

Now that he is leaving CBP, Bersin said he is departing with "full confidence that they will continue to secure our borders and foster the lawful exchange of people and goods with vigilance, service and integrity."

Before joining the Obama administration, Bersin served in a wide array of positions, including a stint as a private lawyer in Los Angeles, nearly five years as the U.S. attorney in Southern California, and more than a year as California's secretary of education under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...s-resignation/

BREAKING NEWS UPDATED: CBP Commissioner Bersin Resigns; Deputy to Become Acting Commissioner
By: Anthony Kimery

12/22/2011 ( 1:37pm)

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Alan Bersin announced earlier today that he had "notified the President of [his] intent to resign effective Dec. 30." Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar will serve as Acting Commissioner, said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano following Bersin's announcement that he is resigning.

Replacing Aguilar as Acting Deputy Commissioner will be Thomas Winkowski, Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Field Operations.

In a statement, Bersin said "I have expressed my deep gratitude and appreciation to President Obama and Secretary Napolitano for the opportunity to have led such an exceptional organization and for the confidence they have shown in me."

Napolitano said later in the day that "during [Bersin's] tenure, CBP has taken historic steps to secure our borders while facilitating legal travel and trade. Commissioner Bersin has also been instrumental in facilitating new international agreements and public-private partnerships as well as developing new paradigms throughout the world in combating terrorism and international crime. Commissioner Bersin has helped set CBP on a path to continuously adapt and seek new and innovative ways of keeping our country – and our communities – safe."

Bersin said his service as CBP Commissioner "has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my public life," and that "I am immensely proud of the significant and meaningful achievements we have made on our borders and at our nation’s ports of entry over nearly two years."

"Through innovative solutions and strengthened partnerships," Bersin said this morning, "we have measurably strengthened border security, enhanced our ability to prevent potential terror threats, streamlined the entry process for lawful trade and expanded our trusted traveler programs."

"These extraordinary accomplishments are the result of the unstinting dedication, professionalism and sacrifice of the men and women of CBP," the outgoing Commissioner said, noting "it has been my honor to serve with them and I depart with full confidence that they will continue to secure our borders and foster the lawful exchange of people and goods with vigilance, service and integrity."

Bersin's resignation wasn't necessarily a surprise, though; he'd had problems on Capitol Hill with a nomination confirmation hearing. But so, too, had other nominees for administrations posts. Consequently, Bersin was one of numerous appointees Obama named to their respective posts using his recess appointment authority - bypassing Senate confirmation votes - on March 27, 2010.

David Olive, chief of staff for then-Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) and founder of Catalyst Partners, a government relations and public affairs firm in Washington, DC, wrote last week in Security Debrief that, "barring an unanticipated miracle ... Bersin’s recess appointment will run out" and it "does not appear that [his]nomination is going to be approved by the Senate, reportedly due to the objection of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.)," chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

"One would have thought DHS or the White House would have announced by now the plan for filling the position once Bersin leaves," Olive said in his commentary.
Olive had correctly speculated that Deputy Commissioner Aguilar, former Chief of the Border Patrol, would "likely ... step in to fill the position," but noted that the "rumors 'on the street'" were that Aguilar hadn't been informed of the impending shake-up.

"If that is the case," Olive said, "it is a mystery that he would be kept in the dark as to DHS and White House intentions for this critically important position."

Olive said "CBP has run without a confirmed commissioner before, but the situation today is very different from what happened previously. One need only think about the circumstances of Christmas Day 2009, when Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to take down an airplane by lighting explosives in his underwear, to understand why having a CBP Commissioner in place is necessary."

"Until DHS or the White House make their plans for Bersin’s replacement, even on an acting basis, clear and unequivocal, one wonders whether they even care about who leads this vital organization." And "if they do care, their silence is sending a disturbing message to CBP’s employees, partners and stakeholders," Olive stated.

Indeed. Without a clear, longer-term successor to fill his shoes, Bersin's departure comes at a time when CBP is set to launch significant new policy overhauls.

"It is a sad testament to our broken nomination process that Mr. Bersin was never reported out by the Finance Committee and given the opportunity to have his nomination voted on by the Senate," said Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman, Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), following Bersin's announcement that he'd resigned.

"I urge the President to move quickly to identify his successor in order to ensure that CBP has the leadership it needs to keep our nation’s borders secure," Lieberman added.

National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen Kelley said Bersin "worked very well with NTEU and we were able to solve a number of problems together. He demonstrated his sincerity in working with NTEU by attending our annual leadership training conference where he met with our CBP chapter presidents and leaders from around the country."

Kelley said Bersin also "co-chaired the NTEU-CBP Labor-Management Forum with me and was committed to the process of working together for the agency, the employees and the country. NTEU worked closely with Commissioner Bersin on the issues that were critical to CBP and its mission, and that impacted frontline employees. He had the utmost respect for employees and made that clear at every opportunity. He will be missed."

Prior to being appointed CBP Commissioner, Bersin served as DHS Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs. In that capacity, he served as Napolitano’s lead representative on border affairs and strategy regarding security, immigration, narcotics and trade matters, as well as for coordinating the Secretary's security initiatives on the nation's borders.

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