John Sanders, acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, announced his resignation on Tuesday amid an overwhelming increase of undocumented migrants crossing the U.S. border and the turmoil to address the situation. He will step down as acting commissioner effective July 5th. Sanders has yet to reveal the reason for resigning.
“As some of you are aware, yesterday I offered my resignation to Secretary McAleenan, effective Friday, July 5th, Sanders said in a letter to CBP’s employees on Tuesday. “ In that letter, I quoted a wise man who said to me, ‘each man will judge their success by their own metrics,’†he explained.
“Although I will leave it to you to determine whether I was successful, I can unequivocally say that helping support the amazing men and women of CBP has been the most fulfilling and satisfying opportunity of my career.â€
Sanders assumed the acting commissioner position from former commissioner and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient Kevin McAleenan back in April. In the role, he’s overseen the agency charged with protecting the nation’s borders at a time when illegal crossings have hit record levels.
President Trump commented on Tuesday that he was “very concerned†about the conditions of U.S. migrant detainee facilities. He made it clear that although he knew a change was coming, President Trump did not ask for Sanders’ resignation as CBP’s acting commissioner.