“The Disaster At Our Border” | Mark Morgan | Visiting Fellow with the Heritage Foundation and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
Mark Morgan currently serves as a Visiting Fellow with the Heritage Foundation and the Federation for American Immigration Reform. In 2019, Mr. Morgan was appointed by the President of the United States to serve as the acting Director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and subsequently to serve as Acting Commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP). While at CBP, the largest law enforcement organization in the U.S., he oversaw a workforce of 63,000 employees; managed an annual budget of over $13 billion; and ensured the effective operations of CBP’s mission to combat transnational criminal organizations, secure our nation’s borders again a vast and complex set of threats, while simultaneously facilitating lawful trade and travel driving continued economic prosperity.
In 2016, after completing a distinguished law enforcement career at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he was appointed for the Senior Executive Service (SES) position of Chief (Executive Assistant Commissioner), U.S. Border Patrol, in Washington, DC. In 2014, he was appointed as Assistant Director of the FBI’s Training Division, in Quantico, Virginia, with responsibility for overseeing policy development and delivery of all law enforcement skills and academic programs for the FBI workforce across 56 Field Offices in the United States and 70 Legal Attaché Offices throughout the world.
From 2013-2014, Mr. Morgan served as Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Inspection Division, directing day-to-day operations to ensure compliance and facilitate the improvement of performance by providing independent, evaluative oversight of all FBI investigative and administrative operations. The Division’s four main program areas included Internal Affairs, Insider Threat, External Audit and Compliance, and Strategic Analysis. In 2014, Mr. Morgan served on a detail to CBP as the Acting Assistant Commissioner for Internal Affairs. In this role, he oversaw the investigation of criminal and serious administrative misconduct by the CBP workforce. He also directed operations related to the screening of potential employees for suitability, implemented internal security measures, and led a re-design of CBP’s Use of Force Incidence Response protocols.
From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Morgan served as the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s El Paso Division, with responsibility for leading a threat-based and intelligence-driven national security and law enforcement organization addressing an expansive and complex set of emerging threats. His area of responsibility extended from the most western tip of Texas to the City of Midland.
In 2010, Mr. Morgan was promoted to the SES at the FBI, as Chief of the Strategic Information and Operations Center, with responsibility for leading the FBI’s global command and strategic intelligence center. This Center provides 24/7/365 enterprise-wide situational awareness to FBI executives with timely notification and dissemination of critical strategic information.
In 2009, Mr. Morgan was assigned to the New Haven Field Office as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge with responsibilities for the Criminal, Critical Incident Response, Surveillance and Aviation programs.In 2008, he became the FBI’s Deputy On-Scene Commander in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was responsible for all FBI personnel deployed to Iraq under the auspices of the Counterterrorism Division. Mr. Morgan was selected in 2007 to serve as the Assistant Section Chief of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime Branch, where he managed the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Units and the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program.
In 2005, Mr. Morgan returned to Los Angeles, where he supervised an FBI-led Hispanic Gang Task Force that focused on the emerging presence of two organized and violent transnational gangs in Southern California; Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and 18th Street. While in Los Angeles, he also supervised the Critical Incident Response Squad, which had administrative and operational oversight of the division’s critical incident response resources. In 2002, Mr. Morgan became a Supervisory Special Agent and served as a Crisis Management Coordinator in the Crisis Management Unit in the Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG). Mr. Morgan entered on duty as a Special Agent in 1996 and was assigned to the Los Angeles Field Office. While there, he was a member of the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, the Crisis Response Squad, and the Special Weapons and Tactics Team. He is a certified firearms and tactical instructor.
Prior to joining the FBI in August 1996 as a Special Agent, Mr. Morgan served as a Deputy Sherriff with the Platte County, Missouri, Sherriff’s Department; and a Police Officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. Mr. Morgan is a 10-year veteran, active duty and reserve, of the United States Marine Corps. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Central Missouri State University, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri.