Bersin Nominated to Head CBP
Alan Bersin, former US Border Czar, has been nominated by President Obama as Customs & Border Protection (CBP) commissioner. Bersin is currently the special representative for border affairs, working with Mexican leaders and U.S. border-area agencies on challenges such as drugs and immigration.
Bersin will continue to advise Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on issues related to Mexico and the border, although he will relinquish the title of special representative, officials said.
“Under Alan’s leadership over the past several months, we have forged new international and domestic partnerships along our borders to strengthen security,” Napolitano said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with Alan in his new position.”
Since April, Bersin was the assistant secretary for international affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. In 1995, he was appointed to the position of border czar by then-Attorney General Janet Reno. In this position, he coordinated the efforts of the multiple law enforcement and federal agencies at the US-Mexico border.
Bersin also has experience coordinating a different disorganized group – students. As superintendent of the San Diego school district, he gained a reputation as an “energetic innovator” but clashed with teachers resistant to change.
For more details on Bersin and his nomination, visit the LA Times (although, they omit the fact that CBP also is tasked with enforcing US trade regulations!)
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