By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector in southern Arizona is losing its leader.
Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla Jr. is taking the helm at the agency’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, The Arizona Daily Star reports.
The Nogales native will make the shift later this month.
Under Padilla’s watch, the Tucson Sector has seen a “marked decrease” in human smuggling, border violence and other illegal activities, according to CBP.
Padilla “always felt a sense of community and made it his purpose in life to reduce cross-border criminal activity while improving the quality of life for Arizona’s residents,” a news release said.
Padilla’s career with Border Patrol began in 1986 at the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol Sector in Texas.
