Trump taps forceful ally of hard-line immigration policies to head Customs and Border Protection

A vehicle travels along the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Ariz. The picture of who will be in charge of executing President-elect Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration and border policies has come into sharper focus after he announced his picks to head Customs and Border Protection and also the agency tasked with deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally. Trump said late Thursday he was tapping Rodney Scott, a former Border Patrol chief who’s been a vocal supporter of tougher enforcement measures, for CBP commissioner. Politics Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott, who embraced Trump’s policies, is leaving job The chief of the Border Patrol says he is leaving his job after less than two years in a position that lies in the crosshairs of polarizing political debate Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. At the time, Scott defended the agents’ decisions, saying they were being assaulted by “a hail of rocks.” Though much of the focus of Trump’s administration may be on illegal immigration and security along the U.S.-Mexico border, Kerlikowske also stressed the importance of other parts of Customs and Border Protection’s mission.