U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Monica J. Riola passed away on August 20, 2021. The circumstances of her passing were reviewed by an executive panel and the CBP Commissioner who agreed that this death occurred in the line of duty. Officer Riola will be remembered for her diligent service to the nation and for her bravery in the face of danger.
Officer Riola was recently assigned to the Los Angeles International Airport Port of Entry in the Los Angeles Field Office. She started her CBP career on February 4, 1996, and served as an office automation clerk, secretary, and Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act assistant for the Immigration and Naturalization Service at the Western Service Center in Laguna Niguel, California. In 2000, she became an immigration inspector at Los Angeles International Airport and continued to work as a CBP officer in several key positions within Passenger Operations at both LAX and John Wayne International Airport in Santa Ana, California.
Officer Riola is survived by her husband, two daughters, her parents and a sister.