Where Are Trump CBP Chief Mike Banks’ Communications from His Time as Texas Border Czar?

As President Trump carries out his extremist immigration agenda, he has installed Mike Banks as chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, a role traditionally held by career government officials rather than political appointees.

In Banks’ two years as special adviser on border matters — or “border czar” — to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, American Oversight has tracked his activity as one of the leaders of Texas’ immigration enforcement efforts. Banks was responsible for coordinating Operation Lone Star, Texas’ $11 billion border crackdown that state leaders have positioned as a model for President Trump’s mass deportation plans.

Despite seeking extensive communications from Banks on a wide range of immigration issues, American Oversight has received responses to public records requests that have consistently revealed little about Banks’ time at the Texas Governor’s Office. The lack of information about whom Banks was communicating with during this time raises significant questions about how Banks will operate in his new role — including his commitment to openness and transparency. 

Among the records American Oversight has sought from Banks are seemingly routine and expected communications between Texas agencies. Despite the close coordination by the state’s Department of Public Safety, Military Department, and Division of Emergency Management on border efforts like Operation Lone Star, the Texas governor’s office said it had “no information” responsive to our request for any email communications between Banks and leaders of those agencies. Banks released joint statements and made public appearances with these officials during this period, making this response extremely unconvincing and troubling. 

The Texas governor’s office similarly had “no information” responsive to a request for email communications between Banks and the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) over a three-week period in 2024, despite Banks having stated that he communicated with CBP daily. Further, American Oversight received a similar response that failed to identify a single email sent by Banks containing either “ICE” or “CBP” over a four-month period in 2024. 

Public records, including heavily redacted calendars covering nearly a full year, provide little insight into whom Banks met with during official work hours. Unredacted entries reveal meetings with Rodney Scott, a former Border Patrol chief and Trump’s pick to lead CBP; officials from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a think tank closely tied to many right-wing government officials, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton; and Mayra Flores, a former U.S. representative who has called for mandatory DNA testing for migrants at the border even if it meant detaining children for months. 

American Oversight’s investigation into Banks did produce two emails of note: one from the far-right Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and one from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Both CIS and FAIR have been designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In August 2023, CIS invited Banks to speak at its “off the record” annual Immigration School, which had “an audience of around 125, including staffers from Capitol Hill and various federal and state agencies.” A representative from FAIR emailed Banks in August 2023 with follow-up questions about a talk he was scheduled to give, but American Oversight received only the single email with the questions, and no response from Banks. Given the seeming implausibility of FAIR having coordinated with Banks regarding details about the talk without previously confirming his attendance, the lack of records casts doubt on the comprehensiveness of the governor’s office search for records and invites scrutiny about whether officials were using non-governmental forms of communication for official business. 

According to records, Banks had an assistant who often communicated using personal email addresses and phone numbers to conduct official business. Armando Salinas, aide-de-camp to Banks, included his personal cell phone number and personal email address in his official email signature, and a September 2023 calendar invitation included an unnamed icloud.com email address, likely belonging to Salinas. In response to a March 2024 request seeking Salinas’ texts and emails sent using personal accounts and devices representing official business, American Oversight received 56 pages of heavily redacted texts, emails, and attachments. A December 2024 email revealed that Salinas also communicated from a personal outlook.com email address. 

The heavy use of personal accounts to conduct official business is troubling, as it enables officials to skirt transparency and accountability. American Oversight has consistently investigated personal email use by government officials, exposing repeated instances of personal email use in the first Trump administration and filing a lawsuit for messages sent from the personal accounts of Abbott and Paxton. That case, recently heard by the Texas Supreme Court, has profound implications for the enforcement of Texas’ Public Information Act, with Abbott and Paxton advancing the dangerous argument that not even the Texas Supreme Court can ensure the governor’s compliance with the state’s public records law.

While there remain major questions about Banks’ time as Texas border czar, American Oversight’s investigation revealed important details about Banks’ hiring as Abbott’s special adviser and the need for the public to have more insight into the actions of such a high-ranking official. Records we obtained include Banks’ initial job description, which was not posted publicly, as well as Banks’ offer letter, which boasted an annual salary of $200,000, a figure far higher than even Abbott’s salary of $153,750.
As Banks takes the helm of the U.S. Border Patrol and assumes a more powerful position than the one that allowed him to oversee Abbott’s program busing migrants out of state and to deploy razor-wire buoys in the Rio Grande, American Oversight is committed to using public records to hold Banks accountable and shed light on his actions and those of the Trump administration.