John Modlin assumed the role of the Chief Operating Officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on October 20, 2024.
In this role, Chief Modlin will ensure that the frontline is equipped with the personnel, tools, and information that are needed, improving the agency’s collective capacity to adapt and respond to an ever-changing environment.
Chief Modlin most recently served as Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) of the Tucson Sector, leading more than 3,100 Border Patrol Agents and nearly 400 professional staff members working to prevent, deter, and seize persons and contraband attempting to illegally enter the United States through 262 miles of U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. He previously served as CPA of the Miami Sector.
Chief Modlin entered on duty with the U.S. Border Patrol on December 10, 1995, as a member of Border Patrol Academy Class 296. His first assignment was at the Chula Vista Station in San Diego Sector. In 2002, he was promoted to Senior Patrol Agent; and in 2005, he became a Supervisory Border Patrol Agent, at the Port Huron Station, in Detroit Sector. In 2008, Chief Modlin accepted a position at U.S. Border Patrol Headquarters in Washington, DC, as an Operations Officer in the former Northern and Coastal Border Operations Division. In 2010, he returned to the field as Patrol Agent in Charge of the West Palm Beach Station; and in 2012, he was appointed as Assistant Chief Patrol Agent in the Miami Sector. Chief Modlin was promoted to Deputy Chief Patrol Agent in 2015, before his appointment as CPA of Miami Sector in 2018. While participating in the SES Candidate Development Program, Chief Modlin served as Deputy Federal Security Director, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, at the Transportation Security Administration.
Chief Modlin earned a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and was awarded a Homeland Security Studies Award for his master’s thesis. He also earned a Master of Arts in International Relations from Webster University in 2016.