Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks abruptly resigned Thursday after a report accused him of flying abroad for sex tourism and boasting about it to colleagues.
Banks, who resigned from Border Patrol during the Biden administration but returned after President Donald Trump’s election win to oversee one of the most aggressive militarizations of the southern border, announced his departure in an interview with Fox News.
“It’s just time,” Banks said. “I feel like I got the ship back on course from the least secure, most disastrous, most chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen.”
His interview made no mention of the sex tourism allegations against him. The Washington Examiner revealed in an explosive April report that Banks would brag about paying for sex in countries like Colombia and Thailand and that he even invited fellow agents to travel with him.
A retired Border Patrol agent told the Examiner that Banks, who is now 53, invited him on a trip abroad in the 2010s.
“Initially, he said, ‘We like to go scuba diving,’” the ex-agent told the site. “But then he’s like, ‘We get a bunch of prostitutes and have a good time.’”
The former agent said he declined the trip and stopped associating with Banks after that.
Banks did not break the law by allegedly paying for sex in countries where prostitution is legal, but insiders at Border Patrol said it violated agency ethics standards.
“In our line of work, part of what we do is try to combat the trafficking of females; that is part of our job,” a Border Patrol agent told the Examiner. “It’s counter to what we do or what we should be standing for. If you’re partaking in those activities, you’re supporting the trafficking and exploitation of women.”
The Examiner wrote that Banks spoke “freely with his subordinates about his travels and that it was known why he went.” Some alleged that he advanced in the Border Patrol because of his close relationship with the union that represents agents.
“I don’t know how he became the chief of the Border Patrol with his character,” a former Border Patrol agent told the Examiner. “He’s going to third-world countries to take advantage of poor f-----g women, which disgusts the hell out of me.”
Reached for comment, a CBP spokesperson told the Daily Beast that “these allegations date back more than a decade and were reviewed years ago.”
“The matter was closed,” they added. “CBP takes allegations regarding misconduct seriously. We cherish the public’s trust and work tirelessly to uphold the rule of law and hold ourselves accountable.”
CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott thanked Banks for his service in a statement shared with the Beast.
“During his time as Chief, the border was transformed from chaos to the most secure border ever recorded,” Scott, who was appointed to the role by Trump last year, said. “We wish him and his family well.”
It appears some in Border Patrol were happy to see Banks go. The Examiner reports that one of his portraits hanging on an office wall was tossed in the trash on Thursday afternoon.
Banks joins a growing list of top DHS officials who have resigned or been pushed out of the Trump administration this year. He spoke alongside Trump’s one-time DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, at a news conference in February, a month before she was fired.
There has also been a leadership change at ICE. Todd Lyons, who has been acting director of the agency, will depart this month and be replaced by David Venturella. Immigration hardliner Gregory Bovino, who oversaw the deadly Border Patrol crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has also retired in the wake of Border Patrol agents shooting protester Alex Pretti dead.
The high turnover at top DHS positions comes as polls reveal that disapproval of Trump’s handling of immigration is now as high as 59 percent.
