Mike Banks likes to joke that he spent one day in retirement after serving more than two decades in the U.S. Border Patrol. But it only took one phone call from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to get him back to border enforcement – this time, for the state.
Abbott’s Texas is testing the limits of what states can do to control immigration. As the pioneering first “border czar” of Texas, Banks is advising the governor’s evolving – and controversial – border security strategy even as the Biden administration fights Texas’ tactics in federal court.
The election-season stakes were on display earlier this year when a bipartisan border security bill – endorsed by the White House – failed despite broad voter support. Republicans backed off the bill after Donald Trump publicly blasted it.
In a mobile command vehicle parked near the Rio Grande river in Eagle Pass, Banks spoke to USA TODAY about his views on cartel threats, concertina wire and comprehensive immigration reform. (This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.)
