By Steve Neavling
Chris T. Clem, a 25-year veteran of the Border Patrol, has been tapped to serve as chief patrol agent in the Yuma Sector in Arizona.
The appointment comes just five months after he took the helm at Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector. He replaces Anthony Porvaznik, who recently retired after serving in the position for more than five years.
Clem’s joined the Border Patrol in 1995 at the Lordsburg Station in the El Paso Sector.
During his career, he held a variety of leadership positions, including senior patrol agent, supervisory border patrol agent, field operations supervisor, and patrol agent in charge, as well as associate, assistant and deputy chief patrol agent. He also served as a canine handler, and intelligence agent and a firearms instructor.
Clem has worked out of Border Patrol stations in Lordsburg, New Mexico and Casa Grande, Arizona; as well as stations across the southern Texas Border. He also worked at Border Patrol Headquarters in Washington D.C.
A native of New Orleans who grew up in Houston, Clem earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in leadership management. from Sam Houston State University.
Yuma Sector includes 126 miles of international border with Mexico and 181,000 square miles. There are three stations – Yuma, Wellton and Blythe – and three checkpoints, with more than 700 Border Patrol agents.
