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SAN DIEGO — The San Diego sector of the Border Patrol has a new chief.

Aaron Heitke is the agency’s new chief of the San Diego sector. Monday, Heike set out his priorities for his command structure.

“I want to be transparent, and I want to put out the actual information on everything that happens and on everything that I can put out,” Heitke said.

Heitke said the Border Patrol in San Diego has been understaffed for years. He said he is planning to hire more agents, improve morale and improve agent retention.

Right now, Border Patrol agents are acting as a front-line defense against the entry of the coronavirus into San Diego.

“We are screening everyone who comes in before they get into one of our facilities to prevent contamination before they get into the facility,” Heike said.

Hietke is a 22-year veteran of the Border Patrol and was an attorney before changing careers. Now he’s in charge of patrolling one of the busiest borders in the world. He said he plans to study things before acting.

“One of my big focuses is to each time to I go to a new place is not to jump in and make big changes when I arrive, because I don’t know how everything works,” Heike said.