By David McCumber
August 13, 2014 | Updated: August 13, 2014 7:49pm
Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON - R. Gil Kerlikowske is not all about the trappings.

"Why would anybody have an office this big?" the new commissioner of Customs and Border Protection grumbles, gesturing at the cavernous expanse of thick blue carpet and walnut furniture in the Ronald Reagan Building. "I should sublet space."

Well, it's certainly an idea, given the current state of CBP's budget after Congress departed for a five-week recess without providing any emergency supplemental funding to deal with the surge of Central American immigration and the resulting Texas-sized mess on the southern border.

Kerlikowske, a career lawman with both federal and local credentials, stepped into the CBP role in March after five years in the significant but comparatively low-key role of White House drug czar. Almost immediately, he was swept up in the whirlwind of the Rio Grande Valley immigration surge.

Senate Republicans repeatedly blocked administration efforts to fill the post of commissioner for the sprawling agency until Kerlikowske was finally confirmed, five years into the Obama presidency.

Obama's first choice, former California Secretary of Education Alan Bersin, got the job in a recess appointment in early 2010 after waiting for a confirmation hearing. When Senate Republicans still refused to hold a hearing on the nomination, Bersin was forced to give up the job. Both before and after Bersin, the agency was headed on an interim basis by David Aguilar, a former chief of the Border Patrol and a Rio Grande Valley native. Aguilar ran the agency until his retirement in early 2013.

Up through the ranks

Aguilar sees Kerli*kowske as an excellent choice for the job. "He's a very people-oriented, community-policing-oriented individual, and he's a thoughtful strategist," Augilar said. "One of the reasons we hit it off as well as we did is that we both came up through the ranks."

For Kerlikowske, the ranks he ascended were in Florida, where he started as a patrol officer in St. Petersburg and later became chief in Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie. He was also a chief in Buffalo, N.Y., and in Seattle, where he led the 1,800-person department for nine years. Though the Seattle department was dogged before, during and after Kerlikowske's tenure with excessive-use-of-force allegations, he was seen as a competent, politically aware administrator and an articulate defender of the department.

His work running the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Obama White House provided him with contacts and interactions that are proving valuable in the current crisis, including within the Mexican government.

"He's a friend to us," one high-ranking Mexican official said on the condition of not being identified. "He understands Mexico's viewpoints and he's made good one-on-one relationships."

Kerlikowske believes that Mexico's own border protection must improve. But for now, he's been drawn to the Rio Grande Valley, where the action is.

"I've spent time with the Border Patrol agents in the Valley," Kerlikowske said. "I'm amazed by how good their attitude is."

"I don't really think he knows too much about it firsthand," said Border Patrol Agent Chris Cabrera, who has met him once. "I think he knows what he's been told is happening." But he added, "He does seem to want to take this on head-on."

The new chief has also won early plaudits from Congress.

"I have been impressed," said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, whose district is ground zero for the surge. "He has demonstrated strong leadership."

'Microwaving burritos'

Kerlikowske cites an unfortunate parallel to that capacious headquarters office. On his initial visit to the border, he saw a room of similar size at the Border Patrol's McAllen detention facility - crammed with 100 immigrant children, sleeping on a concrete floor.

"Border Patrol agents were microwaving burritos for them, and bringing clothing and diapers from their own homes," he said.

He's been back four more times.

Now, he says, the situation is better. The government has contracted with private vendors for food and health care. And the volume of the surge has dropped from about 1,600 apprehensions a day in the Valley at the peak, to about 500 now. And he says compliance with the law that mandates minors cannot be held by the Border Patrol for more than 72 hours before being handed off to the Department of Health and Human Services is now "almost 100 percent."

Still, the job his agents face every day is a huge challenge, he says. "The humanitarian role they play, the lives they have saved, it's immense."

As of last week, Kerlikowske said, "Forty-nine women have told agents they were sexually assaulted" on their journey north.

"When I think that these women come from countries where trust in law enforcement is not high, I'm proud" that they felt comfortable enough to confide in the Border Patrol, he said. "Even the "coyotes" tell them: 'Look for the person in green.' "

"The emotional and physical toll on our agents is unbelievable," he said. "They're seeing these kids every single day."

Allegations of excessive use of force have been a significant problem for the Border Patrol, but Kerlikowske believes the agency is making progress. He points out the new policy on use of force, posted on its website. "We're moving in the right direction. Never as fast as I would like."

He's happy to have the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety. He said DPS officers and Border Patrol agents "live in the same area, see each other in the communities. They have a great relationship."

Kerlikowske said the decrease in migrant flow "is not unexpected given the season," but he's cautiously optimistic. He credits a new information campaign in the Central American countries, employing TV, radio, social media and print.

He's even hopeful that he might soon get to work on other issues in the giant CBP bureaucracy, which has an operating budget of more than $12 billion and more than 63,000 employees. Issues like improving wait times at border crossings and making sure cargo inspections are up to snuff.

But for now, he's focusing on moving money from other areas to shore up the border operation.

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