David V. Aguilar is the former Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In this position, he oversaw more than 43,000 Federal Agents and Officers. As the nation's highest ranking

Border Patrol A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diffe ...

Agent, Aguilar managed the nation's

border control Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

policing. Aguilar retired on February 8, 2013.

Career

Entered on duty in June 1978 at

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villag ...

. Aguilar also served as Patrol Agent in Charge of three different Border Patrol Stations in Texas from 1988 to August 1996. In January 1988 he was first promoted to Patrol Agent in Charge of the Dallas Border Patrol Station in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. In 1992 he was promoted to the Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station in

Rio Grande City, Texas Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,317 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is west of McAllen. It is connected to Camargo, Tamaulipas, via the Rio Grande City� ...

. In July 1995 he was promoted to the Brownsville Border Patrol Station in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

. Aguilar is a supporter of "comprehensive immigration reform" but told his membership that he does not support "amnesty" or "legalization."Video of Chief Aguilar discussing immigration with Border Patrol; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zKRyda0S2k He has been accused by a whistleblower of hindering internal investigations into Border Patrol corruption. On March 31, 2013 David Aguilar retired after 35 years of government service with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the United States Border Patrol. After his retirement, Aguilar partnered with Noah Kroloff,

Dennis Burke Dennis K. Burke (born 1962) is a former United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. Early life and education Burke was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1962. Burke received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in 1985 and earned ...

, Mark Sullivan, John Kaites and

Jerry Reinsdorf Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (born February 25, 1936) is an American sports executive and businessman who is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Re ...

to foun
Global Security and Innovative Strategies

Personal

Aguilar is a native of

Edinburg, Texas Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 100,243 at the 2020 census, and in 2022, its estimated population was 104,294, making it the second-largest city in Hidalgo County, and th ...

, and a 1974 graduate of Edinburg High School. Aguilar received an associate degree in Accounting from

Laredo Community College Laredo College (LC) is a public community college in Laredo, Texas. Founded as Laredo Junior College in 1947, it is part of the Laredo Independent School District. As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of LC includes t ...

, attended Laredo State University (now

Texas A&M International University Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is a public university in Laredo, Texas. It is part of the Texas A&M University System and home to over 8,500 students each academic semester. TAMIU offers over 70 undergraduate and graduate degrees in f ...

) and

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

. He is a graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows program at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

. He's numerous awards, including the

Presidential Rank Award The Presidential Rank Awards program is an individual award program granted by the United States government to career Senior Executive Service (SES) members and Senior Career Employees within the OPM-allocated Senior-Level (SL) or Scientific-Profe ...

in 2008, the President’s Meritorious Excellence Award in 2005, the

Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal The Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military decoration of the Department of Homeland Security, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exception ...

, the Washington Homeland Security Roundtable Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement Lifetime Achievement. Chief Aguilar and his wife of 35 years, Bea, have three children and four grandchildren.CPB.gov-David V. Aguilar

References

External links

*
CBP.gov - David V. Aguilar
Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection *

David V. Aguilar Chief, Office of Border Patrol bio. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aguilar, David V. 1955 births Harvard Kennedy School alumni Laredo Community College alumni Living people United States Border Patrol agents United States Department of Homeland Security officials People from Edinburg, Texas