Provost named Border Patrol’s new deputy chief

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan on Wednesday appointed Deputy Assistant Commissioner Carla Provost as the organization’s new deputy chief, the first woman in that position in history.

Provost’s new role will have her responsible for daily operations, planning and directing nationwide enforcement initiatives and ensuring mission readiness.

“Carla Provost is a proven leader who has demonstrated the courage to take on tough assignments, find solutions to the greatest challenges and direct federal law enforcement organizations toward mission success,” Morgan said. “The American people and the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol will be well served by her uncompromising commitment to enforcing the nation’s laws and the welfare of those sworn to uphold them.”

Provost joined the Border Patrol in 1995 as a Border Patrol agent at the Douglas Station in Tucson, Arizona. From there, she was promoted to supervisory agent in 1997, and later to field operations supervisor in 2001. She then became assistant chief patrol agent in the Yuma Sector in 2006. In Jan. 2009, she was named patrol agent in charge for the Wellton Station in the Yuma Sector. Since then, she was promoted to deputy chief patrol agent in the El Paso Sector and chief patrol agent for the El Centro Sector Border Patrol.

Since Sept. 2015, Provost served as the deputy assistant commissioner of the Office of Professional Responsibility.

“Carla Provost is an exceptional leader who brings a wealth of talent and experience to the job,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske said. “ She has held a variety of supervisory, management, and leadership positions during her more than 20 years with the U.S. Border Patrol, and will break new ground as the first woman to serve as deputy chief in the 92-year history of the Border Patrol.”