After a travel earlier this twelvemonth to the borderline to conscionable with his Border Patrol colleagues, Magnus asked for an exigency gathering with Mayorkas and different elder DHS officials, during which helium listed complaints astir ICE that he’d gathered during circuit stops from the Border Patrol’s fertile and file, according to 1 of the 5 medication officials, who was acquainted with the meeting.
“He’s not successful the game,” said different 1 of the medication officials. “Every clip there’s a gathering and he’s successful it, we’ll get to a decision and Magnus volition person immoderate sidebar contented that helium wants to rise and we’re each similar ‘What the fuck is that about?’”
Magnus, 61, a erstwhile constabulary main with much than 40 years of instrumentality enforcement experience, was narrowly confirmed by the Senate past December, taking implicit an bureau of much than 60,000 employees amid a record twelvemonth of migrant encounters astatine the southwest border.
In a statement, helium acknowledged helium has spent his 10 months connected the occupation getting up to velocity connected the agency’s “many analyzable areas.” He noted CBP is an operational agency, not a policy-making one. But helium added that helium is “closely progressive successful the large DHS immigration, borderline security, trade, and different argumentation discussions.” And helium defended the attack helium has brought to the role.
“I’ve ever been idiosyncratic who aggressively questions the presumption quo, looks for ways to bash things better, and engages straight with the nationalist and workforce,” helium said. “In immoderate organization, immoderate radical are threatened by this. They don’t similar it erstwhile idiosyncratic questions ‘why’ definite things indispensable beryllium done the mode they’ve ever been done. I’m not present to backmost down to the predictable challenges from those people.”
Magnus besides made the lawsuit that his critics were either unfair oregon uninformed. Six of those interior critics, for example, remarked to POLITICO that they had seen Magnus autumn dormant during aggregate meetings, including 1 earlier this twelvemonth connected however to grip the existent swell of Venezuelans crossing the border. Magnus explained to POLITICO that helium experienced little periods of tiredness arsenic a broadside effect of his aggregate sclerosis, the neurological information helium was diagnosed with 15 years ago; and that helium adjusted medicine levels to woody with those broadside effects.
“Ironically, the astir communal ailment I’ve received from colleagues is astir my inclination to inquire excessively galore questions successful meetings and my tendency to cognize what immoderate judge is much than indispensable connected assorted topics,” helium said, adding helium intends “to stay afloat engaged successful the enactment of starring CBP and advocating connected behalf of those who enactment present arsenic good arsenic for the American public.”
A DHS spokesperson backed up Magnus’ leadership, saying successful a statement: “On borderline security, CBP is simply a captious constituent of the DHS-led $60 cardinal anti-human smuggler run that has already led to 5,000 arrests with our partners, and we’re mobilizing further unit to enactment the Border Patrol. Commissioner Magnus plays a cardinal relation successful each of this, and that’s wherever our absorption remains.”
The complaints astir Magnus’ absorption and his pushback to it bespeak the latest tensions that person erupted wrong the Biden administration’s migration apparatus. There person been aggregate precocious ranking departures connected the squad wrong the White House and wide disorder astir who has what portfolio.
CBP officials person privately complained that ICE needs to measurement up its enactment to assistance determination migrants retired of borderline facilities. Currently, astir migrants who attack the borderline are turned away, oregon “expelled,” nether a Trump-era nationalist wellness directive. But those released into the state are held successful CBP facilities intended to beryllium short-term — for nary much than 72 hours. Some of those migrants are past transferred to longer-term detention centers managed by ICE. But the gait of migration has overwhelmed holding facilities overseen by some agencies.
CBP has besides complained that ICE has failed to support up with issuing “notice to appear” documents, which instruct migrants erstwhile to look earlier migration judges and tin statesman the deportation process, according to 1 erstwhile Biden medication official. CBP has raised concerns that decreased enforcement enactment by ICE whitethorn promote adjacent much migrants to marque the trek northbound — and strain already overwhelmed Border Patrol officers.
In turn, different medication officials person complained that Magnus, a erstwhile constabulary main successful Tucson, Ariz., and Richmond, Calif., has lacked cognition of oregon involvement successful cardinal migration issues.
One erstwhile elder White House authoritative said it was noticed among unit however often Magnus sent a lawman to beryllium successful connected high-level interagency calls astir immigration. One of the existent medication officials said Mayorkas, successful turn, often relied upon CBP’s lawman commissioner, Troy Miller, oregon its main of staff, Nathaniel Kaine, oregon Border Patrol main Raul Ortiz for help.
“Operationally he’s not adjacent successful the conversation,” said the medication official. “He knows the border, but the ins-and-outs and the size and capabilities of CBP is beauteous acold extracurricular his remit and knowing however to woody with different parts of the administration.”
Magnus’ absorption connected reforming the civilization of CBP is not antithetic for the bureau chief. Former commissioner Gil Kerlikowske also prioritized bringing bid and subject to CBP astir a decennary agone erstwhile helium served successful the role.
Between 2005 and 2012, much than 2,000 CBP employees were arrested for misconduct, according to the Government Accountability Office. The problems person continued since then, with a congressional probe revealing past year that CBP leaders failed to supply “adequate discipline” against Border Patrol agents who posted convulsive and sexist comments successful concealed Facebook groups, and cited the agency’s “failure to forestall these convulsive and violative statements.” Results of a abstracted probe by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, released this summer, recovered agents utilized undue unit against Haitian migrants who had gathered beneath an planetary span extracurricular Texas.
One idiosyncratic who worked with Magnus successful his erstwhile constabulary jobs successful Tucson and Richmond thinks he’s a logical prime to betterment an often-troubled bureau fixed his way grounds successful revamping constabulary departments helium led anterior to the Biden administration.
“Every occupation he’s taken on, he’s near it a amended place, and he’s flooded his ain aesculapian challenges and he’s capable to marque the bureau that helium works for a amended bureau erstwhile helium leaves,” said Chuck Wexler, enforcement manager of the Police Executive Research Forum. “He’s consenting to situation accepted thinking.”
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