President Bush was generous in his comments about the new commissioner, outlining Basham’s more than 30-year career in federal law enforcement. The President said he has gotten to know Commissioner Basham well after previously appointing him to head the Secret Service. “He's a decent man,” Bush said about Commissioner Basham. “I trust him deeply, and he's going to be a superb leader for Customs and Border Protection.”

The President was also complimentary toward the work of CBP Border Patrol agents and officers on the border. “Federal agents like you have apprehended and sent home about 6 million people entering America illegally since 2001,” Bush said. “It's an amazing statistic, isn't it? Most American people have no earthly idea how hard our Border Patrol agents are working. Six million people since 2001 have been caught trying to come into this country illegally and sent home. And that's why I tell you I'm grateful for your hard work. People are doing an outstanding job.”

The Artesia event at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center was the first of a series of appearances by President Bush, Secretary Chertoff and Commissioner Basham on the southern border to discuss border security and immigration policy. The new Commissioner will visit ports of entry and border sites in Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas before touring the CBP facility at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and returning to Washington, D.C.