Bonner resigns from CBP, praised for leadership
Robert C. Bonner has resigned as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The Los Angeles Times first reported in Tuesday’s edition that Bonner planned to step down. Bonner told the paper that he is exhausted after four years at the helm of an agency that has undergone massive change and been on the frontline of the war on terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Close associates have said in the past year that Bonner has desired to move back to California to be closer to his daughter and grandchildren. The Times said Bonner, a former federal judge, is considering a return to private law practice. Bonner worked for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles before being named to head the U.S. Customs Service.
Several friends and acquaintances said Bonner appeared tired in recent weeks.
“One of his signatures as a leader is that he put his heart and soul into the job and he’s tapped out,” said Brian Goebel, who served as a senior advisor to Bonner during his first two years on the job.
Bonner had sought to leave by the end of October, but agreed to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff’s request to stay on through Thanksgiving to help with a smooth transition, according to a CBP source.
Chertoff called Bonner an “outstanding public servant” and said “his guidance and efforts have been instrumental in balancing our need to preserve the integrity of our borders without sacrificing the free flow of commerce on which our nation and the global community depends.”
“It’s a hell of a loss for CBP, and a hell of a loss for the nation,” said Douglas Browning, a senior vice president at Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services who served as deputy commissioner under Bonner.
Bonner managed the transition of the Customs Service from the Treasury Department to the new Department of Homeland Security in 2003. Under the reorganization the agency assumed responsibility over the Border Patrol, parts of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Agriculture Department inspection force.
He is credited with developing and implementing the Container Security Initiative (CSI), the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, and the 24-hour rule for collecting cargo declarations in advance for antiterrorism screening.
There was an audible gasp in the room when Bonner announced his plans Wednesday morning at a meeting in Tysons Corner, Va., of the Trade Support Network, the 150-strong group of industry representatives that provides input into automation and other modernization policies, according to people who were there.
“It was a bit of a bombshell. There were definitely some emotions in the room,” said Tom Zisser, principle with Zisser Group, a San Diego-based international trade-consulting firm. “People were sad to see him go.”
Bonner will be missed by the import/export community, said Michael Laden, who left Target Customs Brokers this year to form his own customs compliance and supply chain security firm, Chaska, Minn.-based Trade Innovations. Laden has worked directly with CBP and Bonner, as well as through industry advisory committees, to help design cargo security programs that don’t impede trade.
“That’s a huge loss for the trade. Bonner was truly a visionary and took the time necessary to understand the delicate balance between facilitation and enforcement,” Laden said. “Past commissioners were either all facilitation or all enforcement. He was firm, but fair.”
Laden said he worried that the industry will now have to start over re-educating the next commissioner about the importance of international trade and creating regulations that fit with normal business practices.
Dennis Murphy, a former Customs assistant commissioner for public affairs and DHS spokesman, called CSI “the crown jewel” of Bonner’s accomplishments. Under CSI, Customs officers are stationed at key foreign ports to identify suspicious container shipments for host government customs authorities to inspect with large-scale imaging technology. The program launched in Rotterdam within nine months after Bonner unveiled his strategy for extending the borders to 20 major ports. The program has expanded to 39 ports around the world since it began in September 2002.
“People said it was impossible to do because the international world moves so slowly,” Murphy said. “Within a year he had agreements with multiple ports in Europe and Asia. It was phenomenally challenging, both diplomatically and operationally.
“It has been a true honor to serve this president and our country, especially during such a critical time following the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” Bonner said in a statement released by CBP.
“I am proud to have been a part of the first Homeland Security team under Secretary (Tom) Ridge and to have been given the task to create one frontline, law enforcement agency for our nations borders — CBP,” he said.
Bonner submitted his resignation letter to President Bush Sept. 24, four years to the day that he was sworn in as commissioner of Customs.