Marfa, Texas – The U.S. Border Patrol has announced today that the Marfa sector will change its name to the Big Bend sector. The change will officially take place on October 1.
“The name change better reflects the area of responsibility of our Sector,” said Chief Patrol Agent John J. Smietana Jr. “All of our line stations and our headquarters are within the area known as the Big Bend of Texas.
“The change will be meaningful to our many state, local and federal partners as we continue to expand our collaborative efforts,” Smietana said. “We are active participants in the Big Bend Area Law Enforcement Officers Association and the name change will help curb the public misconception that our only jurisdiction is Marfa.”
The sector began with two “mounted inspectors” in 1924. At that time the sector was part of the Big Bend district.
The Big Bend sector has the most international border miles of any sector on the southwest border. The sector’s 510 miles of border is about 25 percent of the total U.S. border with Mexico.
The sector includes almost 700 Border Patrol agents and about 50 support employees. The sector comprises 165,154 square miles and includes 78 Texas counties. The state of Oklahoma is also within the sector.
The sector headquarters will remain in Marfa.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
