EXCLUSIVE — Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz will step down from his post atop the 19,000-person law enforcement organization in the coming weeks following nearly two years at his post, the Washington Examiner has learned.
Ortiz, an agent of 32 years, shared during a phone call early Tuesday afternoon with several dozen regional chiefs, deputy chiefs, and headquarters officials that he would retire at the end of June, according to one person on the call. A second source confirmed the call took place and Ortiz made the announcement.
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At 8 p.m., Ortiz emailed a letter to staff confirming that he had chosen to retire and would do so on June 30.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had tapped Ortiz to replace then-Chief Rodney Scott in June 2021. Ortiz was promoted to the job in August 2021 from his post as deputy chief.
Mayorkas issued a statement late Tuesday and called Ortiz a “greater leader” for how he had embodied the values of “vigilance, service to country, and integrity.”
“I knew when I became Secretary that Chief of the Border Patrol would be one of the most critical positions to fill. At the time, Chief Ortiz was planning to retire; convincing him to remain in service and selecting him to lead the Border Patrol was among the most important decisions I have made,” Mayorkas said. “Chief Ortiz agreed to postpone his retirement several times since and the Border Patrol, the Department, and our country have been all the better for it.”
Mayorkas praised Ortiz for tackling major challenges that the organization’s 19,000 employees have faced as more people than at any point in history crossed the southern border since President Joe Biden took office.
“He managed the critical transition out of the Covid pandemic and into the enforcement of our traditional immigration authorities under Title 8 of the United States Code. He championed our effort to increase the number of case processors in order to get our Agents and Officers back into the field,” Mayorkas said. “His commitment to the wellbeing of the workforce and to championing their priorities are among the clearest examples of his unsurpassed devotion to duty; he is the model of a law enforcement leader.”
Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller called Ortiz a “true leader” and praised him for more than three decades in service to the U.S.
“Chief Ortiz is a true leader. I have benefited greatly from his partnership, expertise, wise counsel, and friendship over the years,” Miller said in a statement. “Every single day, he champions the men and women of the Border Patrol and has worked tirelessly to ensure that they have the tools, resources, and support they need to do their jobs.
“He has numerous accolades and awards from his tenure in the Border Patrol, but the highest compliment we can bestow on him is that he is a great agent,” Miller said. “I look forward to seeing him out on the water, fishing from his boat, as he enters this next and well-deserved chapter.”
Ortiz made news in February 2020 when he was selected by the Trump White House to be a guest at the president’s annual speech. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security described the move as an attempt by the Trump administration to showcase a nonwhite agency representative given that Scott, then chief, was white. The choice was meant to help then-President Donald Trump make the case that his border and immigration policies, including his efforts to limit illegal immigration, were not racially motivated.
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Ortiz joined the Border Patrol in the early 1990s, working out of the San Diego, California, region at a time when large groups of noncitizens would run through ports of entry.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not comment on the matter.
