Mario Vazquez/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan is leaving his post heading the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that’s responsible for patrolling the U.S.-Mexican and Canadian borders, according to a statement sent out by the bureau’s acting commissioner.

“On behalf of the men and women of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Border Patrol, I want to thank Mark Morgan for his unwavering dedication to our border security mission, and recognize his life-long career in service to the nation,” Acting Commissioner Kevin K.

McAleenan said in a statement released on Thursday.

Morgan’s departure is effective Jan. 31. Sources familiar with the circumstances of Morgan’s departure say his exit is not for cause, and that the new administration is moving in a different direction.

President Donald Trump was backed by unions representing Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during the election. Trump pointed out National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd and Chris Crane, the head of the National ICE Council, during his visit to the Department of Homeland Security, Wednesday, calling them friends and saying, “You guys are about to be very, very busy doing your job the way you want to do ‘em.”

According to a former DHS official, the union would prefer a Border Patrol insider to run the agency. Morgan was made Border Patrol Chief in 2016. Morgan, who has a 31 year career in public service, came to Customs and Border Protection after serving for 20 years in the FBI. Morgan also served in the Marine Corps before beginning his career in law enforcement.

Last November, after the election, the National Border Patrol Council published an op-ed on Breitbart Texas calling Morgan a “disgrace to the agency.” The editorial alleged that, “Morgan is worried because he knows that his comments attacking President-elect Trump’s border security policies prior to the election has him in hot water and his position as the chief of the Border Patrol is tenuous at best.”

The editorial finished by stating, “Morgan — a hand picked Obama Administration official — does not have the will necessary to secure the border for the citizens and legal residents of this country.”

News of Morgan’s exit comes one day after President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on immigration.

The orders, issued Wednesday, call for the increase of border patrol enforcement officers and lay the groundwork for building a wall on the southern border.

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