New BP chief says National Guard can detain immigrants

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The highest-ranking U.S. Border Patrol Chief visited the Rio Grande Valley Friday to speak with agents on the line and commission 300 National Guardsmen with the authority to detain and arrest people who are illegally entering the country. 

Chief Mike Banks is no stranger to the U.S. Border Patrol. 

Banks has merit and the experience to get the job done. 

The U.S. Navy Veteran has over 23 years of experience in border security operations, even holding high-ranking official titles here in the Rio Grande Valley. 

"This is my forever home, the valley has a special place in my heart, I got married and fell in love here and I'm very excited to come back to the U.S. Border Patrol," said Banks, "My number one priority is to empower the agents to do the job. They can expect a level of accountability and someone that is going to have their back, without fear of appraisal even when they haven't done anything wrong." 

Banks says he plans on doing that by updating and reviewing policies. 

"We're getting rid of restrictive policies that are keeping agents from being able to do their jobs. We're law enforcement, we're not enforcing policies. We're looking at every single policy, and if it hinders my agents from doing their job, we're going to remove that policy," said Banks. 

The changes are happening quickly. 

Friday, Banks commissioned 300 U.S. National Guard to give them jurisdiction to apprehend and detain anyone who illegally enters the country.

"This is allowing us to formalize this relationship a little more, taking away the limitations the state had prior to this."  

Banks says he wants to clear up misinformation that's been spread throughout the country and border communities. 

"We're not going into schools targeting children, we're not going into church targeting parishioners," he said. "We are not targeting school buses, we're going to act within our authority. We are a prideful and professional organization. We are going to do our job and make the country as safe as possible." 

Throughout his time in the RGV, Banks attended multiple briefings around different border patrol stations in the valley to meet face-to-face with agents on the line to discuss what issues and concerns they may have.