Established by four Federal law enforcement executives with over 100 years of combined experience leading over 20,000 law enforcement agents nationwide responsible for securing our national borders.

Robert L. Harris, Principal

Joint Task Force – West Director Southern Border and Approaches Campaign

Robert L. Harris was selected in December 2014 by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson to serve as the executive agent for the Joint Task Force – West (JTF-W), overseeing the security objectives of the Southwest Border in furtherance of the Southern Border and Approaches Campaign Plan. As JTF-W Director, he coordinates the combined resources of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and the U.S. Coast Guard to focus cross-departmental and integrated counter-network operations across four geographic corridors.Previously, Director Harris was the first-named Commander of the South Texas Campaign from February 2012 to December 2014, overseeing more than 10,000 CBP employees and approximately 463,900 square miles, 697 riverine miles and 1,000 littoral miles. Director Harris concurrently served as Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) Laredo Sector.

Director Harris was a Presidential Rank award recipient in 2015 and a finalist in 2013, an award bestowed by the President upon a small group of career executives as the nation’s highest civil service award.

He has more than 32 years of distinguished Federal service, beginning his law enforcement career as a member of USBP class 167 on October 14, 1984, at the San Clemente (CA) Border Patrol Station. He has served in various key leadership positions throughout the organization including national Deputy Chief – Office of Border Patrol; Associate Chief – Border Patrol Operations; Chief Patrol Agent– Spokane Border Patrol Sector; and Chief of Intelligence Operations.

As Deputy Chief, Director Harris developed a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard the country against terrorism and respond to future attacks while leading and managing the transition of the Border Patrol into the newly created CBP, which eliminated three regional offices and established a straight line chain of command. He led Operation Safe Passage, a national security deployment of 317 agents to nine international airports within 36 hours of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, simultaneously implementing enhanced border security measures along the United States /Canada /Mexico borders.

Director Harris led the buildup of 1,000 Border Patrol Agents along the U.S./Canadian border and served as Task Force Director for Operation Jump Start, which deployed 6,000 National Guard Soldiers to international borders in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

He is a member of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit and has coordinated foreign and domestic enforcement operations including service in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Estonia.

Director Harris is a graduate of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and holds a Master’s degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College and a Bachelor’s degree in Management.

Paul A. Beeson, Principal

John C. Esquivel, Principal

Mr. John C. Esquivel is a former Chief Executive of the U.S. Border Patrol Sector in Laredo, Texas.  His in-depth experience gained while serving in key leadership positions along the U.S. – Mexico border and at regional and headquarters offices in the world’s premier border security organization makes Chief Esquivel a recognized expert in border security. 

Mr. Esquivel is a founding member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and was one of only twenty Chiefs in U.S. Customs and Border Protection responsible for preventing the illegal entry of persons and contraband between official U.S. ports of entry.  He was appointed as a subject-matter-expert to select teams comprised of U.S. – Mexico and U.S. – Canada executives that worked collaboratively to increase border security, open lines of communication, improve working relationships and intelligence sharing, and facilitate legitimate trade and travel. Mr. Esquivel established and chaired a delegation of Border Patrol Chiefs and Mexico Consuls General based along the U.S. – Mexico border to address and resolve immigration, customs, trade, transportation and other critical issues.  He was an active member of the Border Commanders group (U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. State Department and the Secretariat of National Defense for Mexico's Army and Air Forces) and Energy Security Council. Mr. Esquivel trained police executives from Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary, and U.S. military leaders at the Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. 

Marcos Garcia, Principal