Dallas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) welcomed Cleatus P. Hunt Jr. as the new Area Port Director at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Hunt officially assumed responsibility on February 24 and oversees CBP operations at the following Texas and Oklahoma airports: Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Midland, Lubbock, and Amarillo, Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
“I am truly honored to have been selected as the Area Port Director in Dallas. I look forward to working with our law enforcement partners at all levels as well as our airport partners and stakeholders,” Hunt said.
Hunt and his staff will carry out CBP’s primary mission of preventing terrorists and terrorists’ weapon from entering the United States while facilitating legitimate trade and travel. Specifically ensuring visitors to the U.S. meet the admissibility requirements and that customs and agriculture inspections are conducted for every traveler arriving to the U.S. through any of the eight airports under his authority.
Additionally, Hunt will also oversee international trade occurring at those airports ensuring imports and exports meet federal laws and regulations and that the correct duty amount is collected.
“I do understand the importance of what our agency does in terms of protecting our borders as well as the significant impact our operations have on local, national and global economies,” Hunt said. “I recognize there is a careful balance that we must keep to ensure our primary mission remains our highest priority while facilitating trade and travel in a first-rate manner.”
Hunt started his career in 1992 with U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and has worked as an immigration inspector in Canada, Baltimore and U.S. Virgin Islands. When CBP was created in2003, Hunt became a CBP officer and worked in Washington D.C. and Calgary, Alberta Canada. His previous assignment was CBP Port Director in Phoenix, Arizona where he led CBP operations at Sky Harbor International Airport, Scottsdale and Phoenix/Mesa Gateway airports.
Hunt holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a recent graduate of the 2013 Department of Homeland Security Fellows Leadership Program where he received the Derek T. Jensen Memorial award for his professionalism, leadership and selflessness in public service.