W. Ralph Basham is the second Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for managing, controlling, and securing our nation’s borders. 

Mr. Basham has racked up a distinguished record of public service in law enforcement. Prior to joining CBP, he served as the director of the United States Secret Service since 2003. A 28-year veteran of the Service, Mr. Basham also served as director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and chief of staff of the Transportation Security Administration. 

Beginning his Secret Service career in 1970, Mr. Basham rapidly rose through the ranks and in January, 1998, was appointed director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). He was named chief of staff for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in January 2002 and oversaw the hiring of federal security directors for the nation's 429 airports.

Mr. Basham leads an organization that remains one of the nation’s prime defenses against counterfeiting, making tens of thousands of seizures a year. In a speech to the US Chamber of Commerce 4^th Annual Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit, he stated that the strategies CBP uses in combating counterfeit and pirated goods are similar to those it uses in its security mission: evaluate risks, threats and vulnerabilities, use new techniques to help target and interdict pirated goods, partner with both private industry and government agencies, and identify business practices linked to IPR theft and use audits to deprive counterfeiters of their illegal profits.