U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Chief Jason Owens has appointed Juan Bernal as the new Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) of Maine’s Houlton Sector, which encompasses the entire state and the northeastern corner of the U.S.-Canada border, as well as Maine’s sprawling coastline.
[RELATED: Border Patrol Apprehends 20 Romanian Nationals Who Illegally Crossed US-Canada Border into Hodgdon…]
Chief Bernal, prior to assuming command as the Houlton Sector’s 28th CPA on Feb. 12, was the Acting CPA of the Del Rio Sector — a 242-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border.
“It is an honor to join the ranks of the men and women of Houlton Sector,” said Chief Patrol Agent Juan Bernal.
“Our primary mission is to protect America by securing the borders,” Bernal said. “Houlton Sector has a long tradition of doing just that and I look forward to contributing to that legacy.”
[RELATED: Northern Border Encounters in Maine’s Houlton Sector Remained High in November…]
Bernal is replacing Acting CPA Dennis Harmon, who led the Border Patrol in Maine since the June 2023 retirement of William Maddocks.
Throughout a 26-year career in the USBP, Bernal has served at the Douglas Station in the Tucson Sector, held leadership positions at USBP Headquarters, and has served as the Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Attache in the Dominican Republic.
Bernal is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy.
According to the most recent CBP data, there have been a total of 146 encounters with migrants crossing the northern border in the Houlton Sector in the 2024 fiscal year-to-date (Oct. 2023 through Jan. 2024) — up from 81 during the same period in the FY 2023.
The key here, is to expose the northern mules, if there are some in a designated area, and deal with them accordingly. Then, good luck to the snow ninjas…
Still waiting to hear how those Romanian nationals who snuck into Maine from New Brunswick managed to get through New Brunswick first….