Michael Banks is stepping down as chief of the U.S. Border Patrol less than two years after taking over the agency during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
According to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, Banks confirmed Thursday that he is resigning effective immediately from the top Border Patrol position.
“It’s just time,” Banks told Melugin when asked about the reason for his departure from the administration.
The resignation marks a major leadership change inside the Trump administration’s border enforcement operation, where Banks became one of the administration’s most visible immigration officials.
Trump selected Banks shortly after the 2024 election following his work as border czar for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
In Texas, Banks helped oversee Operation Lone Star, the aggressive state-led border enforcement initiative launched by Abbott along the southern border.
Banks officially became the 27th chief of the US Border Patrol after being sworn into office Jan. 22, 2025, shortly after Trump returned to the White House.
Before joining the administration, Banks spent approximately 25 years working inside Border Patrol after first entering the agency in 2000.
During his federal law enforcement career, Banks held leadership positions in Texas, Arizona and California, including assignments in the Rio Grande Valley sector.
He also previously served for 10 years in the United States Navy as a master-at-arms before transitioning into border enforcement work.
Banks became one of the administration’s leading public defenders of Trump’s immigration agenda throughout 2025 and 2026 during interviews and television appearances.
He repeatedly praised the administration’s deportation operations, border wall expansion and stricter asylum enforcement measures implemented after Trump returned to office.
In a 2025 interview with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Banks described border security as essential to maintaining American sovereignty.
Banks also credited Border Patrol agents with helping restore what he described as operational control along large sections of the southern border under Trump-era policies, per Trending Politics.
His resignation comes as administration officials continue highlighting declining illegal border crossing numbers compared with levels recorded during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Republicans and Trump administration officials have repeatedly pointed to those lower crossing numbers as evidence their immigration enforcement strategy has been effective.
As of Thursday afternoon, neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Customs and Border Protection had publicly announced Banks’ replacement or provided additional details about his departure.
The administration has also not indicated whether the resignation was planned in advance or connected to broader leadership changes taking place inside federal immigration enforcement agencies.
