Border Patrol names Carla Provost acting chief

FILE - In this undated file photo provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Ronald Vitiello poses for a photo. Vitiello has left the chief's position, at least temporarily, three months after he was appointed and is now acting deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol. The deputy commissioner job opened when Randolph Alles was named Tuesday, April 25, 2017, to lead the Secret Service. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2016 file photo, Customs and Border Protection U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan, left, and Deputy Chief Carla Provost, are sworn in during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs concerning border protection on Capitol Hill in Washington. Ronald Vitiello now acting deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection has named his deputy, Carla Provost, acting Border Patrol chief. She is the first woman to lead the agency. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) (The Associated Press)

SAN DIEGO – The U.S. Border Patrol has a new acting chief as the Trump administration pursues plans for a wall on the border with Mexico and hiring 5,000 agents.

Carla Provost is the first woman to lead the agency.

Ronald Vitiello left the chief's position — at least temporarily — three months after he was appointed, and is now acting deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol. The deputy commissioner job opened when Randolph Alles was named Tuesday to lead the Secret Service.

Vitiello said in a message to staff that he had named Provost, who had been his deputy, to the position.

While the moves don't signal any shift in direction, it comes as the agency plans to extend the wall and launches a major recruitment drive.