Obama administration to name its border czar to be Customs and Border Protection commissioner

Obama to pick border czar for Customs commissioner

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to nominate its Southwest border czar to be commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

The administration has told some members of Congress that Alan Bersin is its pick to lead this agency within the Homeland Security Department, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made. The agency helps keep terrorists and their weapons out of the country while securing and facilitating travel and trade as it enforces hundreds of regulations, including export and import controls, immigration and drug laws.

The appointment requires Senate confirmation.

Since April, Bersin has been serving in a position created by the Obama administration to handle illegal immigration and border issues. During this time, Bersin has worked closely with the Mexican government to combat drug cartels.

From 1993 to 1998, Bersin was the federal prosecutor who led the government’s crackdown on illegal immigration across the California-Mexico border. During his final three years, Bersin doubled as U.S. attorney general Janet Reno’s Southwest border representative, or “border czar.”

Under Bersin’s watch, the U.S. government rolled out Operation Gatekeeper, a massive increase in border enforcement in the San Diego area that pushed migrants to cross illegally from Mexico in the remote mountains and deserts of Arizona.

Most recently, Bersin was chairman of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. He also served under California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as state secretary of education.

Earlier, Bersin served as superintendent of San Diego public schools. Hispanic groups criticized his appointment to that post, saying Operation Gatekeeper increased deaths among illegal immigrants. They claimed the program forced immigrants to attempt treacherous mountain and desert crossings in order to get into the United States.

Last summer, Bersin donated $28,500 to the Democratic White House Victory Fund. Bersin contributed the maximum amount an individual could give to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.