Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his appointment of a border czar to head Operation Lone Star. The announcement came on Monday during a press conference in the Rio Grande Valley.

Governor Abbott appointed recently retired Border Patrol Agent Mike Banks. He has a long history of service to the Border Patrol and retired in the past few days.

“We found the right person for the job in Mike Banks,” Abbott said during the announcement. “Mike Banks is an award-winning Border Patrol agent. He has held important Border Patrol leadership positions for more than 20 years, serving under four presidents.”

Responding to the governor’s appointment, Banks told reporters in South Texas, “I am humbled to be selected by Governor Abbott for this opportunity. Protecting our nation’s border is something I have dedicated the last 23 years of my life to, and I am very passionate about it.”

Most recently, Banks served as the Patrol Agent in Charge of one of the largest Border Patrol stations in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, officials told Breitbart Texas on Monday. Prior to that, he served in Washington, D.C., at Border Patrol headquarters under U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz. Banks also served briefly as an acting chief patrol agent along the U.S.-Canada Border.

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