Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott Nominated to Lead Customs and Border Protection

FAIR Take | December 2024
Earlier this month, President-elect Donald Trump selected Rodney Scott to lead Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in his second term. Scott previously served as Border Patrol Chief from January 2020 until August 2021.
If confirmed as CBP Commissioner, Chief Scott will lead the largest enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CBP is a massive agency, made up of roughly 65,000 employees. CBP includes both the Border Patrol, responsible for securing the nation’s borders between ports of entry, and the Office of Field Operations (OFO), responsible for security at ports of entry.
In announcing his nomination to lead CBP, President-elect Trump highlighted Scott’s extensive experience in immigration enforcement. Trump wrote, “Rodney served nearly three decades in the Border Patrol, building vast experience and knowledge in Law Enforcement and Border Security. Rodney served as the 24th Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, where he implemented Remain-in-Mexico, Title 42, Safe Third Agreements, and achieved record low levels of illegal immigration.”
Scott was forced out of his position as Border Patrol Chief under the Biden-Harris administration after he pushed back on politically driven changes within CBP. In April 2021, Acting CBP head Troy Miller advised Scott that the agency would be adopting the term “undocumented immigrant” in place of the legally correct “illegal alien.” At the time, Chief Scott sent an internal memorandum to Miller arguing that, “The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) is and must remain an apolitical federal law enforcement agency…Despite every attempt by USBP leadership to ensure that all official messaging remained consistent with law, fact, and evidence, there is no doubt that the reputation of the USBP has suffered because of the many outside voices. Mandating the use of terms which are inconsistent with law has the potential to further erode public trust in our government institutions.” Scott retired as Chief of the Border Patrol in August 2021.
After leaving the Border Patrol, Chief Scott remained a leading voice on the need to secure our borders and consistently called for a return to Trump-era policies. He joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) as a Distinguished Senior Fellow for Border Security in fall 2021. In that position, Scott testified in front of Congress on multiple occasions and made numerous media appearances calling for increased immigration enforcement. Along with Safe Third Country agreements and the Remain in Mexico program requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their court hearings, Chief Scott supported construction of the border wall, which remains a key priority in a second Trump term.
Scott’s nomination comes at a critical time for the agency. CBP will be on the front lines as the country looks to recover after four years of open-borders policies and fulfill President-elect Trump’s pledge to restore order at our borders. Under the Biden-Harris administration, nearly 11 million illegal aliens have been encountered, along with an estimated two million gotaways. Those numbers include more than 165,000 illegal aliens with criminal warrants or convictions since Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 and record numbers of suspected terrorists, nearly 2,000 in total between OFO and Border Patrol encounters. Even more troubling, under this administration it became routine for illegal aliens encountered at the border to be released on their own recognizance with a Notice to Appear (NTA), which simply requires them to report for a court date, often years in the future.
Reaction to Chief Scott’s nomination was enthusiastic. In a statement, TPPF CEO Greg Sindelar said: “[Rodney] has worked tirelessly with the federal government and states across America to protect our communities. We are grateful for his leadership and look forward to the success he will bring.” Rank-and-file border agents also expressed support for the move. According to one Border Patrol agent, “We’re all ecstatic. it was needed because this administration that’s in right now that we’re living under, they’ve left a pretty bad taste in our mouths, and the morale is pretty low because of it. We got sick and tired of watching the criminals and everyone get away with everything. There was a reason everyone named us the ‘Welcome Patrol.’”
Other picks rounding out President-elect Trump’s team include South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary, former ICE Acting Director Tom Homan as Border Czar, Stephen Miller as Deputy Chief of Staff, and longtime ICE veteran Caleb Vitello as Acting ICE Director.
Support from readers like you is crucial in funding FAIR’s operations. Please consider making a difference with a tax-deductible contribution and join our efforts in educating the public on sensible immigration reform.