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El Paso, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection El Paso Port Director William “Bill” Molaski was formally sworn into office yesterday during a CBP change of command ceremony. Family, friends, colleagues and local dignitaries gathered as Molaski recited the oath of office during a ceremony at the Chamizal National Memorial Theater.

“I am excited about this new position and the trust the agency has bestowed upon me,” said Molaski. “There is no more important job in America today than the job of a CBP officer. I am happy that I

William “Bill” Molaski, left, is sworn in as new port director for El Paso, Texas.

was able to share this day with family and friends.”

As El Paso port director, Molaski will direct operations and enforcement activities at the four international crossings in El Paso: Paso Del Norte, Stanton, Bridge of the Americas, and Ysleta, as well as CBP airport operations at El Paso International Airport. He will oversee hundreds of employees at these locations including CBP officers, agriculture specialists, canine enforcement officers, import specialist and other personnel working in many other areas.

“I look forward to the challenge of directing CBP operations at one the largest and most important ports of entry on the southwest border,” said Molaski. “There are a lot of hard working professionals spending their days, nights and weekends keeping this community and our nation safe. I am proud to be their leader.”

Molaski said he plans to focus the efforts of his employees to ensure that the agency’s primary mission of preventing terrorists or weapons of terror from entering the United States is accomplished on a daily basis. Molaski also is responsible for all immigration issues related to the admission and exclusion of people applying for entry into the United States. He also is responsible for customs and agriculture inspections at the entries to ensure that all goods and people entering the United States do so in accordance with our laws and regulations, while ensuring that they are facilitated in their processing to support the global marketplace and the international tourism industries.

Molaski began his career with the U.S. Customs Service in October, 1979 following a six-and-a-half year U.S. Army enlistment. He has worked at the ports in San Ysidro, Calif., Miami and New York, and has previously served as port director for Arizona ports in Naco and Douglas. His most recent assignment was as the assistant director of trade for the CBP Tucson region.

Molaski also has served as a program advisor in Saudi Arabia and conducted extensive program reviews throughout South and Central America. He also worked overseas with the CBP international affairs office and in concert with the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Military Command in Baghdad, Iraq. During that time he served as the CBP liaison officer conducting port assessments and overseeing the operational deployment of CBP border security teams assigned throughout Iraq.

Although today marked the formal change of command at CBP’s El Paso port, Molaski reported to and occupied his new post in mid-January. Molaski replaces David Longoria, who was the El Paso port director since March 2001. Longoria temporarily left as El Paso port director in July 2007 to become the acting deputy director of the El Paso Intelligence Center. That position became permanent in October 2008.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.