Thread: Secret Service chief in line for top customs post

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0131cpb0131.html

Secret Service chief in line for top customs post

Mike Madden
Republic Washington Bureau
Jan. 31, 2006 12:00 AM


WASHINGTON - President Bush will nominate the director of the Secret Service to run Customs and Border Protection, the chief agency responsible for guarding U.S. borders.

The White House announced Monday that Bush had chosen W. Ralph Basham, 62, a veteran Secret Service agent and manager, to be the next commissioner of CBP, pending Senate confirmation.

Part of the Department of Homeland Security, CBP oversees the Border Patrol and immigration and customs inspectors at land-border crossings, airports and seaports. The agency employs about 41,000 people. Its top job had been vacant since late November, with Deputy Commissioner Deborah Spero serving as acting boss.

At the Secret Service, Basham has been director since 2003 and helped oversee its transition from the Treasury Department to Homeland Security.

He was chief of staff at the Transportation Security Administration when that agency was established and ran the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which trains agents for the Border Patrol and other federal law enforcement organizations.

If confirmed, Basham would move to an agency on the front lines of the U.S. effort to stop illegal immigration and prevent terrorists from entering the country.

By choosing a veteran federal cop for the job, Bush may escape controversy of the sort generated when he tapped Julie Myers, a lawyer with close ties to other Bush administration officials but little law enforcement background, to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Earlier this month, Bush gave Myers a recess appointment to that job, which didn't require confirmation.

Like Myers, Basham has no experience in immigration or border security. But administration officials on Monday pointed to his long resume in other law enforcement fields as proof of his qualifications.

"Ralph's extensive law enforcement career, his work internationally and within several components of the department make him a superb fit to lead CBP's vital mission," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement.

But the president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union for about 10,000 Border Patrol agents, predicted Basham will keep the agency from making aggressive changes in the way it seeks to prevent illegal border crossings.

"He's a safe choice," said T.J. Bonner, union president. "Of course, that spells trouble for the men and women out on the front lines because it means that nothing is going to change.

"We're going to have someone who continues to spout the company line."

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060 ... -3768r.htm

Bush to name Basham to CBP
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published January 31, 2006

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President Bush will nominate two veteran federal law-enforcement officials to head U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Secret Service, key offices within the Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said W. Ralph Basham, the director and 29-year Secret Service veteran, will be named to serve as CBP commissioner, and Mark Sullivan, a 23-year Secret Service veteran, has been picked to head that agency.

"President Bush has identified two exceptional law-enforcement professionals for key positions at the Department of Homeland Security," Mr. Chertoff said. "Both men are vastly experienced and highly decorated members of the federal law-enforcement community, who have each made significant contributions to our nation's security."

Mr. Basham was sworn in as the 21st director of the Secret Service in January 2003. He also served as director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and chief of staff of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). He has held supervisory positions in both protective and investigative assignments, serving as special agent in charge of field offices in Cleveland and Washington.

At TSA, he was responsible for the agency's administrative division, including financial management, personnel, procurement and strategic planning. In 1998, he was appointed director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga., and Artesia, N.M., which provide training for nearly all of the nation's federal law-enforcement officers.

In January 2002, Mr. Basham was named chief of staff for TSA, where he oversaw the hiring of federal security directors for the nation's 429 airports.

Mr. Sullivan's appointment will follow Mr. Basham's successful confirmation, Mr. Chertoff said.

A 23-year veteran of the Secret Service, Mr. Sullivan served as assistant director for the Office of Protective Operations and has held several senior investigative and protective management positions. Mr. Basham appointed Mr. Sullivan to the position of deputy director on Friday.

"Ralph's extensive law-enforcement career, his work internationally and within several components of the department make him a superb fit to lead CBP's vital mission," Mr. Chertoff said. "Mark would be promoted to lead the Secret Service, where he has held critical leadership roles with the greatest distinction."