New York, Dec 5 (EFE). United States President-Elect Donald Trump announced Thursday Rodney Scott, his Border Patrol chief in 2020, to lead the Customs and Border Protection Office.
Scott headed the border patrol for a year and was forced to resign after Joe Biden was elected president.
Trump, who made the announcement on his Truth Social network, said he thanked his nominee for having carried out many of his policies and credited him with having managed to reduce immigration.
“After retiring, Rodney has continued to educate politicians and the public about the importance of meaningful Border Security,” said Trump, who said during his election campaign he would intensify his immigration policies with mass raids “from day one” in office, which he will assume on Jan. 20.
Scott was at the center of some of Trump’s most controversial control measures. When he was head of the San Diego Border Patrol sector, agents fired tear gas across the Mexican border at migrants heading toward the US, according to the New York Times newspaper.
He was also in charge of the agency when Border Patrol agents were sent to Portland, Oregon, in 2020 to protect federal buildings during protests against police violence.
But there were reports of federal agents in riot gear inside the city and outside federal property, which Scott denied.
Trump also announced that Caleb Vitello, a veteran of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would lead the agency on an interim basis.
The threat of mass raids has pro-immigrant organizations across the country on alert and millions of immigrants fearful about their future. EFE
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