CBP names new Laredo port director
Sidney Aki, assistant director for border security for the Detroit Field Office, has been named port director at the Laredo checkpoint on the Mexican border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
Aki, a native of Hawaii, replaces Gene Garza who held the position for many years before being promoted earlier this year to regional field director in the Laredo sector, with responsibility for eight ports of entry.
Last year, the Laredo port of entry processed 1.5 million commercial vehicles, more than any other checkpoint on the Mexican border.
In the Detroit field office, Aki helped oversee seven ports of entry. During the past year, Aki filled in as port director at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and director of field operations for the Miami and Tampa field offices.
Beginning in September 2006, Aki served as the port director at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Aki also was a policy advisor for the assistant secretary of policy at the Department of Homeland Security from September 2005 through July 2006 where he provided assistance and oversight in the development of policy for border security related issues. He also served as a policy advisor in the CBP commissioner's Office of Policy and Planning and a program manager for Border Security and Facilitation within the Office of Field Operations at CBP headquarters.
