On February 4, U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), San Diego Sector, welcomed Aaron Heitke as its newest Chief Patrol Agent (CPA).
CPA Heitke entered on duty on February 2, 1998. His first assignment as a Border Patrol agent was at the Wellton Station in the Yuma Sector. In November 2004, he was promoted to Supervisory Border Patrol Agent at the Grand Marais Station in the Grand Forks Sector and was named its Patrol Agent in Charge in 2005.
Throughout his two-decade career with USBP, CPA Heitke has served in many leadership positions around the country, including roles at USBP Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
CPA Heitke originally joined San Diego Sector in November 2019 as the Deputy Chief Patrol Agent after serving as CPA for the Grand Forks Sector, a position he held since 2015. The Grand Forks Sector covers eight northern and mid-west states and is responsible for border security operations along the 861 miles of U.S and Canadian border in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
CPA Heitke now manages more than 2,400 law enforcement agents and mission support staff and has direct oversight of San Diego Sector’s eight Border Patrol stations.
CPA Heitke earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He also earned a juris doctorate at the University of North Dakota School of Law, was inducted into the Minnesota Bar Association in 1997, and practiced law for a short time before entering the Border Patrol. He is a native of Minnesota, is married, and has two daughters.
