HODGDON, Maine – Maine’s border patrol has a new leader. Juan G. Bernal, formerly U.S. Customs and Border Protection acting chief patrol agent of the Del Rio, Texas sector, assumed command in February.
Bernal, who was responsible for directing border patrol operations for over 2,000 agents and support staff along the 242-mile stretch of the U.S. and Mexico international border, replaces Maine’s acting chief patrol agent Dennis W. Harmon.
Harmon led the state’s Houlton sector since the June 2023 retirement of William J. Maddocks.
The Houlton Sector patrols all of Maine’s often forested and remote 611-mile-long boundary with Canada. There are stations in Van Buren, Jackman, Fort Fairfield, Houlton , Rangeley, and Calais.
Bernal faces several challenges in his new post, including a dramatic increase in the number of illegal crossings along Maine’s northern border as well as a rise in human smuggling operations.
Additionally, a much needed new station in Houlton, was delayed last April after the Department of Homeland Security halted construction, allocating the funds to a facility in Laredo, Texas instead.
It will be several years before the new appropriations are available and construction completed. Until that time, agents and staff will continue working in substandard conditions, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said during a U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing last March.
Throughout his 26-year border patrol career, Bernal held various leadership positions
and also served as acting Customs and Border Protection attache in the Dominican Republic. The new chief is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy and the U.S. Border Patrol Academy.
“It is an honor to join the ranks of the men and women of Houlton Sector,” said Bernal in a statement. “Our primary mission is to protect America by securing the borders. Houlton Sector has a long tradition of doing just that and I look forward to contributing to that legacy.”
