Kevin McAleenan

Government official and attorney

• Born: September 5, 1971
• Place of Birth: Honolulu, Hawaii

Education: Amherst College; University of Chicago Law School

Significance: Kevin McAleenan became the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2018. As the head of the largest law enforcement agency in the United States, he was responsible for overseeing the country’s border security, trade enforcement, and counterterrorism efforts. He was then appointed acting US Secretary of Homeland Security by President Donald Trump in April 2019 but resigned that November.

Background

Kevin McAleenan was born on September 5, 1971, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Michael McAleenan, was studying for his doctorate in sociology at the University of Hawaii and working with at-risk students in a middle school. His mother, Andrea McAleenan, also worked with at-risk youth in the education system.

McAleenan grew up in Hawaii and attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he played football for three years. After graduating in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, he enrolled in the University of Chicago Law School in 1995. He earned his law degree in 1998 and was admitted to the State Bar of California in December 1998.

Career in Government

During law school, McAleenan was inspired by a professor’s comments about the likelihood of terrorists attacking the United States and planned to pursue a career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Saddled with student debt when he graduated, he instead worked as a lawyer in California, first as an associate with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter, and Hampton from October 1998 to February 2000 and then with Gunderson Dettmer from February 2000 to October 2001.

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, McAleenan decided to pursue his earlier career goal and work in counterterrorism. He applied to the FBI and, while waiting for a response, was asked by Robert Bonner, the commissioner of the US Customs Service, to help establish the Office of Antiterrorism, a new organization within the US Customs Service. McAleenan joined the Office of Antiterrorism in November 2001. Two years later, he was named its director. Responsible for integrating antiterrorism policies with border security and coordinating efforts with other federal agencies and national intelligence, he developed and implemented procedures for responding to threats of terrorism and preventing the entry of terrorists into the United States. In 2006, he was named a member of the US government’s Senior Executive Service.

From 2006 to 2008, McAleenan was the port director of the Los Angeles International Airport and oversaw border security operations there and at seventeen additional airport facilities. He oversaw screening procedures for both passenger and cargo operations to provide security from terrorists, prevent illegal drugs from entering the country, enforce immigration and agricultural protection policies, and facilitate legal tourism and trade activities.

In February 2008, McAleenan left the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and joined a Virginia-based homeland security consulting firm, Sentinel HS Group, as a vice president. He returned to CBP in May 2010 as a deputy assistant commissioner in the Office of Field Operations, a position he held through December 2011. His responsibilities included overseeing twenty field offices, 329 ports of operation, and seventy international locations that handled immigration, agricultural protection, trade compliance, anti-smuggling, and antiterrorism operations.

McAleenan moved quickly through the executive ranks of CBP. On December 31, 2011, he was promoted to acting assistant commissioner of its Office of Field Operations. Just over two years later, on April 1, 2013, he became the acting deputy commissioner of CBP. He became the deputy commissioner on November 2, 2014, and the acting commissioner on January 20, 2017. As acting commissioner, McAleenan was tapped to oversee the construction of a wall along the southern border and led efforts to solicit wall designs and identify wall locations. He also implemented processes to enforce President Donald Trump’s first executive order, a ban on individuals from select Muslim-majority countries entering the United States. McAleenan later confirmed mistakes with the processes involved with that order, such as that some customs agents at foreign airports barred legally eligible individuals from boarding planes and flying to the United States.

In March 2017, Trump named McAleenan as his pick to lead CBP. Despite concerns from immigration advocates and some Democratic senators, McAleenan was confirmed by the Senate, with many members supportive because of McAleenan’s industry and agency experience. McAleenan was sworn in as commissioner of CBP on March 20, 2018.

In mid-2018, McAleenan enforced the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy that separated children and parents at the border and increased the detention of immigrants and asylum seekers. After widespread national outrage ensued, he announced a temporary suspension of the practice of detaining adults and children separately. Instead, he said, CBP would follow the same processes it had used during the Obama administration and keep parents and children together until their cases were heard by the immigration courts.

Following the resignation of US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019, Trump designated McAleenan to take on that role in an acting capacity. As head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), McAleenan focused heavily on limiting both legal and illegal immigration. In particular, he attempted to deal with the issue of asylum seekers attempting to enter the United States from the southern border with Mexico. Reports suggested that while he publicly supported Trump's policies, he internally sought to moderate some of the administration's more extreme positions on immigrants and migrants, leading to a tense relationship with the president. McAleenan's tenure was ultimately brief, as he resigned in October 2019, citing personal and family reasons. He was eventually succeeded by Chad Wolf.

In August 2020, the US Government Accountability Office released a report that found his appointment as acting DHS secretary had not followed the proper order of succession. The report concluded that subsequent appointments, including Wolf's, were therefore also invalid.

After leaving the DHS, McAleenan pursued private ventures, including joining the board of directors of the government contracting company Steampunk. He was an operating partner with AE Industrial Partners, serving on the Board of Directors and as president of a company in its portfolio, BigBear.ai.

Impact

A strict enforcer of immigration and customs laws, McAleenan long sought to stem the flow of immigrants from Central America entering the country without legal permission. He brought this strict approach to immigration to his role as CBP commissioner and acting DHS secretary, reflecting President Trump’s agenda. He was honored for his contributions to public service with the DHS Secretary’s Award for Meritorious Service in 2014 and the Presidential Rank Award in 2015.

Personal Life

McAleenan and his wife, Corina Avalos McAleenan, had two daughters together.

Bibliography

Ainsley, Julia. “Trump Pick to Build Wall Up for Confirmation after Allegations Debunked.” NBC, 24 Oct. 2017, www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-pick-build-border-wall-delayed-investigations-n813656. Accessed 30 Aug. 2018.

Chappell, Bill. “Customs and Border Agency Halts Many 'Zero Tolerance' Detentions, Citing Workload.” National Public Radio, 26 June 2018, www.npr.org/2018/06/26/623484448/customs-and-border-agency-halts-many-zero-tolerance-detentions-citing-workload. Accessed 30 Aug. 2018.

“Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan.” US Customs and Border Protection, www.cbp.gov/about/leadership-organization/acting-commissioner. Accessed 30 Aug. 2018.

Dickerson, Caitlin. “The Secret History of Family Separation.” The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2022, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/09/trump-administration-family-separation-policy-immigration/670604/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023.

Downey, Kirstin. “Man with Hawaii Roots on Verge of Top Border Enforcement Post.” Honolulu Civil Beat, 13 Nov. 2017, www.civilbeat.org/2017/11/man-with-hawaii-roots-on-verge-of-top-border-enforcement-post/. Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.

Fox, Tom. “A Conversation on Leadership with the Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” The Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2015/12/02/a-conversation-on-leadership-with-the-deputy-commissioner-of-u-s-customs-and-border-protection. Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.

Hennessy-Fiske, Molly. “Border Protection Commissioner Talks ‘Zero Tolerance,’ Family Separations and How to Discourage Immigration.” Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2018, www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-border-patrol-immigration-20180611-htmlstory.html. Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.

Kanno-Youngs, Zolan, et al. "Kevin McAleenan Resigns as Acting Homeland Security Secretary." The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/10/11/us/politics/kevin-mcaleenan-homeland-security.html. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.

"Kevin McAleenan." AE Industrial Partners, 2024, www.aeroequity.com/team-member/kevin-k-mcaleenan/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

McAleenan, Kevin. “Written Testimony of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations Assistant Commission Kevin McAleenan for a House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Hearing Titled ‘Eleven Years Later: Preventing Terrorists from Coming to America.’” Department of Homeland Security, 11 Sept. 2012, www.dhs.gov/news/2012/09/11/written-testimony-us-customs-and-border-protection-house-homeland-security. Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.