RGV Border Patrol chief tapped to help lead agency

EDINBURG – The U.S. Border Patrol’s top agent in the Rio Grande Valley will head to Washington, D.C., this summer to become the agency’s second in command.

Chief Patrol Agent Ronald D. Vitiello has been appointed deputy chief of the agency and will be leaving his position in the Valley – one of the largest and busiest Border Patrol sectors in the United States, the agency said in a statement Monday.

During his tenure in the Rio Grande Valley, Vitiello, 46, oversaw a dramatic increase in the number of agents deployed in Hidalgo, Starr, Cameron and several other South Texas counties.

He managed the hiring of more than 400 new agents locally under a Bush administration push to double the size of the agency.

He also led the Border Patrol through one of the most controversial efforts it has undertaken locally in years. During construction of the border fence, agents served as the primary point of contact between the government and landowners and had mixed success in explaining their mission to residents, Vitiello said in a 2008 interview.

“We’ve not been really good about saying, ‘This is what’s going to happen, start to finish,'” he said at the time. “But I’m convinced, given the opportunity to sit down and explain our mission … we can address everyone’s concerns.”

Vitiello took over the agency’s Rio Grande Valley sector in 2007 after its former chief, Lynne M. Underdown, retired earlier in the year.

He previously held the top job in the Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector, where he oversaw 295 miles of the country’s border with Canada in New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.

Prior to that, he served as an assistant chief for the agency during the creation of U.S. Customs and Border Protection under the Department of Homeland Security.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Chief Vitiello on a number of important issues,” said CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin in a statement. “I am very pleased that he is bringing his considerable knowledge, expertise and energy to the CBP leadership team in Washington, D.C.”

The Border Patrol has not yet announced with Vitiello will be leaving the Valley or when a replacement might be named.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 587-9377.