Biden accepts resignation of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus - CBS News

2 years ago 40

Washington — President Biden connected Saturday accepted the resignation of his administration's Senate-confirmed Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Chris Magnus, who had been asked to measurement down by Department of Homeland Security leaders frustrated with his leadership.

In a little resignation letter to Mr. Biden, Magnus, who had earned a estimation arsenic a progressive instrumentality enforcement reformer portion serving arsenic constabulary main successful Tucson, Arizona, Richmond, California, and Fargo, North Dakota, said it had been a "privilege and honor" to service successful the administration.

"I americium submitting my resignation effectual instantly but privation you and your medication the precise champion going forward. Thank you again for this tremendous opportunity," Magnus wrote.

White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed the president had accepted Magnus' resignation, which marks 1 of the astir high-profile departures of the Biden administration, and volition again permission the largest national instrumentality enforcement bureau without Senate-confirmed leadership.

"President Biden appreciates Commissioner Magnus' astir forty years of work and the contributions helium made to constabulary betterment during his tenure arsenic constabulary main successful 3 U.S. cities," Jean-Pierre said successful her statement. "The President acknowledgment Mr. Magnus for his work astatine CBP and wishes him well."

Magnus' resignation comes conscionable a time aft it was revealed that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had mislaid assurance successful his quality to pb CBP astatine a clip erstwhile the bureau has struggled to respond to grounds numbers of migrant apprehensions on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Magnus, however, indicated to respective quality outlets connected Friday that helium had nary volition of resigning, saying helium was focused connected reforming CBP, which for years has attracted progressive disapproval implicit its attraction of migrants and asylum-seekers.

Prior to the interior clash becoming public, Magnus had already been sidelined astatine CBP, with Troy Miller, a vocation official, charged with starring day-to-day operations astatine the agency, according to a elder DHS authoritative who requested anonymity to sermon interior matters.

While determination were respective concerns among DHS leaders astir Magnus and his quality to pb CBP, the elder section authoritative cited Magnus' fraught narration with Border Patrol, the bureau liable for apprehending and processing migrants who transverse into the U.S. unlawfully.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times connected Friday, Magnus defended his leadership, saying his attempts to betterment Border Patrol were met with resistance.

"At 1 point, it became truthful wide to maine that immoderate successful the apical enactment astatine DHS did not recognize what betterment adjacent looked similar wrong a instrumentality enforcement organization," Magnus told the newspaper.

In a connection precocious Saturday notifying CBP employees that Magnus had near the department, Mayorkas said that Miller, the vocation bureau official, would go acting commissioner, a presumption helium antecedently held during the aboriginal days of the Biden administration.

"We are thankful to Commissioner Magnus for his contributions implicit the past twelvemonth and privation him well," Mayorkas said successful the connection obtained by CBS News.

With much 60,000 employees, CBP is liable for stopping migrants who participate the U.S. illegally, facilitating ineligible commercialized and travel, preventing illicit drugs and goods from entering the state and disrupting terrorists plots.

Over the past 2 years, the agency's resources person been severely strained by a crisp summation successful unauthorized migration on the confederate border. In fiscal twelvemonth 2022, a 12-month play that ended connected Sept. 30, CBP officials on the Mexican borderline processed migrants astir 2.4 cardinal times, an all-time high.

The grounds precocious tally included a important fig of repetition crossings by migrants expelled to Mexico, arsenic good arsenic implicit 1 cardinal accelerated expulsions of migrants processed nether a Trump-era nationalist wellness regularisation known arsenic Title 42. But the unprecedented migration occurrence has nevertheless posed dire humanitarian and operational challenges for CBP, arsenic good arsenic a governmental headache for Mr. Biden's administration.

Republican lawmakers person faulted the Biden medication for the migrant crisis, saying harsher Trump medication policies reversed implicit the past 2 years should beryllium reinstated to deter migrants from coming to the U.S.

While migration flows tin beryllium influenced by U.S. policy, oregon perceptions of it, pandemic-era economical woes successful Latin America, a wide exodus from countries similar Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua with authoritarian governments and labour demands successful the U.S. person besides contributed to the unprecedented fig of migrant arrivals on the U.S. borderline successful caller months.

In an interview with CBS News successful August, Magnus said crises crossed the globe had been prompting hopeless migrants to travel to the U.S. borderline successful grounds numbers.

"There's unprecedented levels of cartel and pack unit successful different countries, governmental upheaval. People are astatine existent risk. Some of them truly (face) specified information for their families, themselves, that they spot nary alternate but to flee," helium said.

Camilo Montoya-Galvez