Carla Provost

Carla L. Provost (born November 21, 1969)[1] is a retired American government official who served as the Chief of the United States Border Patrol from August 2018 through January 2020.[2][3] She was the first female to serve as Chief of the Border Patrol, a career law enforcement position.[1][4][2] Provost held numerous positions during her 25-year career in the Border Patrol, including serving as Deputy Chief beginning in October 2016, and Acting Chief from April 2017 until her promotion in August 2018.[5][6][7]

Carla Provost
Chief of the United States Border Patrol
In office
April 25, 2017 – January 31, 2020
Acting: April 25, 2017 – August 5, 2018
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byRonald Vitiello
Succeeded byRodney Scott
Personal details
Born (1969-11-21) November 21, 1969
Burlingame, Kansas, U.S.
Children1
EducationKansas State University (BS)
National Defense University (MS)

Early life and education

Carla Provost was born in Burlingame, Kansas. Her father, Max, worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, which became the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Her mother, Faye, was a paralegal for a law firm before passing away from Alzheimer’s disease.[1][8]

Provost graduated from Kansas State University with a B.S. in sociology and criminal justice; and obtained a M.S. in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University.[1][3]

Career

Provost was formerly a police officer in Riley County, Kansas.[1][9] Provost joined the Border Patrol in 1995, when the 5,000 member force was 5% female.[9] After starting in Douglas, Arizona, she served in a number of senior positions in Yuma, Arizona, and El Paso, Texas.[9]

In January 2013, she was given control of operations for the Border Patrol's El Centro Sector.[9] In September 2015, she was tasked with investigating allegations of wrongdoing and rooting out corruption, becoming Deputy Assistant Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility.[9]

On October 26, 2016, Provost was selected as the Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol.[7][6][5] In April 2017, Provost began serving as Acting Chief after Ronald Vitiello was named Acting Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Provost was officially promoted to the position of Chief in August 2018, a move widely supported by the Border Patrol workforce.[9]

In July 2019, an investigation was launched into "disturbing social media activity hosted on a private Facebook group that may include a number of CBP employees". Provost said that the "posts are completely inappropriate" and vowed to hold the employees responsible accountable.[10] It was later revealed that Provost herself was once a member of the group, having posted in it in November 2018.[11] In a July 2019 congressional hearing, Provost testified that she was "an infrequent user of Facebook" and first learned of the offensive posts in reporting by ProPublica.[12] Upon hearing of the postings, she immediately provided CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility with full access to her Facebook account for investigation.[12]

Provost, whom former acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan said “served the United States Border Patrol and CBP with distinction,” retired from federal service in January 2020 after 25 years as a Border Patrol agent.[13][14]

Personal life

Provost has one child, a daughter named Haley.[8][1]

References
  1. "Carla Provost: From Agent to Chief | U.S. Customs and Border Protection". www.cbp.gov. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  2. "Career Border Patrol official picked to lead agency". AP NEWS. January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  3. "Carla L. Provost Named Chief of the US Border Patrol - U.S. Customs and Border Protection". www.cbp.gov. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  4. "Carla Provost officially named first female chief of Border Patrol". Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  5. "Border Patrol names Carla Provost acting chief". Fox News. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  6. The Associated Press (April 26, 2017). "Border Patrol names Carla Provost acting chief". Usatoday.com. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  7. "U.S. Border Patrol Chief Selects Carla Provost as Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol | U.S. Customs and Border Protection". Cbp.gov. October 26, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  8. Chief Carla L. Provost Profile U.S. Customs and Border Protection. August 9, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019
  9. Nixon, Ron (July 28, 2017). "Woman in Charge at Border Patrol Hopes to See More in Ranks". The New York Times. p. A12. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  10. Silverstein, Jason (July 1, 2019). "Customs and Border Protection investigating secret Facebook page where agents allegedly mocked migrant deaths". NBC News. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  11. Devereaux, Ryan (July 12, 2019). "Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost was a member of secret Facebook group". Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  12. "U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Border Patrol Oversight Hearing". House Committee on Appropriations. July 24, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  13. Sands, Geneva. "Rodney Scott named Border Patrol chief as Provost leaves her post". CNN. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  14. "USBPChief". Twitter.com. US Customs and Border Protection. January 31, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020. Today, I retire from government service.
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