see also: in June 2008:   CBP in New Orleans Offers Tips for International Air Travelers for Summer Season   CBP Offers Tips for International Air Travelers in Memphis for Summer Season   U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Host San Diego Hiring Event   Baltimore CBP Recovers Stolen Vehicle Being Shipped Overseas   Border Patrol Agents Seize Cocaine, Methamphetamines and Marijuana   Canada, U.S. Sign Arrangement to Align Security Standards for Cross-Border Business   CBP, Texas Strengthen Partnership to Ensure Border Security ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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El Paso, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection has named Ana B. Hinojosa as the new director of field operations (DFO) for the El Paso Field Office.

Ms. Hinojosa reported to her new post at the El Paso field office in late May. She will be sworn into office during a formal change of command ceremony slated for Friday, June 20. Ms. Hinojosa replaces Luis Garcia, who retired from CBP in November of last year. Acting DFO Gene Garza, who occupied the El Paso DFO position between Garcia’s retirement and Hinojosa’s appointment, has returned to his position as the director of the Laredo port of entry.

As the El Paso DFO, Ms. Hinojosa will direct operations and enforcement activities at the 10 international ports of entry in West Texas and New Mexico including El Paso (four crossings), Fabens, Fort Hancock, Presidio, Santa Teresa, Columbus and Antelope Wells as well as CBP airport operations at El Paso, Santa Teresa and Albuquerque and rail crossings in El Paso and Presidio. She will oversee hundreds of employees at these locations including CBP officers, agriculture specialist, canine enforcement officers, import specialist and personnel working in many other areas.

For her area of responsibility, Ms. Hinojosa focuses the efforts of her 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. Ms. Hinojosa is also responsible for all immigration issues related to the admission and exclusion of people applying for entry into the United States. She also is responsible for customs and agriculture inspections at the ports of entry 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 market place and the international tourism industries.

“I am very excited about all of the opportunities to work with the communities in the El Paso, West Texas and New Mexico area to highlight the great work that our employees do for our community and our country,” said Hinojosa.

Ms. Hinojosa comes to El Paso from Dallas, where she served as the CBP area port director for Dallas Fort Worth International airport. Before the Dallas position, Ms. Hinojosa was CBP’s area port director at Los Angeles International Airport. Prior to that, she held the position of assistant director, operations for the South Texas CMC (Laredo Field Office) where she maintained operational oversight of the Texas border ports from Brownsville to Del Rio, and the airports of San Antonio and Austin.

She has also held several positions in the International Trade field with U.S. Customs at various locations along the southern border, including a position as a supervisory paralegal specialist with the Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures office in San Diego and the assistant port director for Trade in Laredo. Ms. Hinojosa began her career with the U.S. Customs Service as a co-op student working at Laredo in early 1987.

“Having had the opportunity to work at a number of different locations around the country, I think I have the benefit of being able to look at our operations with an open mind and with a broad perspective to help us be as effective and efficient as we can be, while considering the uniqueness of our region and utilizing its strengths to our advantage,” said Hinojosa. “I have been away from the border for about six years now, and I really feel like I am coming home. I hadn’t realized how much I missed the feeling of community that I think you can only truly get on the border.”

Ms. Hinojosa is originally from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and has spent most of her professional career, spanning more than 20 years, in various assignments along the U.S./Mexico border. Ms. Hinojosa, has been a career member of the Senior Executive Service, is a graduate of Texas A&M International University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. She has also completed the Executive Development Program with the U.S. Customs Leadership Institute at Columbia University Graduate School of Business in New York.

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.