Texas Border Business
LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today that Jennifer De La O, formerly the director of Field Operations for the Boston Field Office, has entered on duty as director of Field Operations for Laredo Field Office. De La O succeeds DFO Donald R. Kusser, who will become the DFO at Los Angeles Field Office.
“I am excited and honored to come back home to Texas to lead a Field Office that is innovating, enforcement driven, and committed to protecting the United States from national security threats,” DFO De La O said.
As the director of Field Operations, Laredo Field Office, Ms. De La O oversees the largest Office of Field Operations workforce in CBP. She leads nearly 3,500 employees at eight ports of entry along 450 miles of the Southwest Border from Del Rio to Brownsville and includes the Machinery Center for Excellence and Expertise. These operations include 18 international bridges, eight airports, three rail crossings and one seaport that process 59 million international travelers, 60 percent of all commercial truck traffic, 82 percent of all railcars and nearly 40 percent of all buses along the SWB while accounting for over $315 billion in trade.
In FY 2025, CBP officers assigned to the Laredo Field Office seized 71,733 pounds of narcotics valued at $674 million while processing over 4.4 million commercial trucks, 21.2 million privately owned vehicles, 11.2 million pedestrians and 51,743 buses.
Ms. De La O most recently served as the director of Field Operations for the Boston Field Office. In this role, she oversaw CBP operations of a six-state region spanning the New England Area of the United States, which includes 750 miles of land border with Canada, directed the activities of 1,100 employees, and oversaw the arrival of more than 9.5 million international travelers and over $61 billion in imported goods. In her capacity as DFO, she worked at the direction of the Department of Homeland Security and CBP Headquarters to ensure proper oversight and compliance in all programs related to anti-terrorism, immigration, customs, agriculture, and trade at one major airport (Boston–Logan International), five smaller commercial airports, 17 seaports and 39 land border ports of entry.
Prior to that, DFO De La O temporarily served as the acting deputy executive assistant commissioner of the Office of Field Operations. As part of her role, she led 31,000 employees and managed an annual budget of $6.5 billion for operations at 328 U.S. ports of entry and numerous programs to support OFO’s national and economic security missions.
Throughout her career with CBP, Ms. De La O has served in numerous leadership roles to include interim Director for the San Diego Field Office; area port director for the Port of Buffalo, New York; assistant director, Border Security, Boston Field Office; area port director for the Service Port of Minneapolis; director of Field Liaison Division and acting director of Cargo and Security Control Division, both in CBP Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Ms. De La O began her career as a U.S. Customs Inspector at the Los Angeles International Airport in July 1999. She is a West Texas native and graduate of Sul Ross State University. Ms. De La O holds a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration. She is also a 2013 graduate of the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business CBP Leadership Institute.
