Top border official Magnus says he's been asked to resign but refuses - Los Angeles Times

In an escalation of interior disagreements wrong the Biden administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus has been asked to resign.

In an interrogation with The Times connected Friday, Magnus said helium volition not comply with the petition to measurement down, which helium said came from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Magnus, who is known arsenic a progressive instrumentality enforcement leader, struggled to found a nationalist illustration aft his Senate confirmation successful December.

In caller months, however, the erstwhile constabulary main has done much media interviews, criticizing Republican governors who were busing and flying migrants from the borderline to Democratic-controlled cities.

On Twitter, helium has been vocal connected astir migration issues, penning that Title 42, a measurement instituted during the Trump medication that allows borderline agents to rapidly crook backmost migrants, “comes astatine a dense outgo to galore asylum seekers.”

Magnus has tried to alteration the civilization of Customs and Border Protection, which includes the Border Patrol. His goals see adding much pistillate officers and tightening rules for pursuing migrants fleeing successful cars.

After disapproval astir violative wit wrong the ranks, including Facebook posts that made amusive of dormant migrants and lawmakers, Magnus has clamped down connected societal media activity.

The unit connected Magnus comes aft a astonishing midterm election, with preliminary returns showing Democrats performing amended than expected aft predictions of a Republican sweep. Republicans had tried to capitalize connected the administration’s handling of migration — particularly, the conflict to support up with an expanding numbers of migrants crossing the border.

In the past fiscal year, which ended successful September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded much than 2 cardinal encounters with migrants astatine the borderline — a grounds high.

In a speech betwixt the 2 men connected Wednesday, Mayorkas said that helium had mislaid assurance successful Magnus, according to Magnus.

If Magnus didn’t resign, Mayorkas would urge his firing to President Biden, Magnus said.

The adjacent day, John Tien, the 2nd successful bid astatine the Department of Homeland Security, besides told Magnus that helium should resign oregon other beryllium fired wrong the adjacent fewer days, Magnus said.

“I expressed to him that I felt determination was nary justification for maine to resign erstwhile I inactive cared profoundly astir the enactment I was doing and felt that that enactment was focused connected the things I was hired to bash successful the archetypal place,” Magnus said.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to comment.

The gathering with Mayorkas came aft Magnus had decided to not proceed a “retention” bonus for the caput of Border Patrol, Raul Ortiz.

Magnus said helium made the determination due to the fact that Ortiz did not favour reforms related to Border Patrol, including Magnus’ taste changes.

On Tuesday, Magnus had gone to a gathering of Border Patrol chiefs successful El Paso aft Mayorkas had ordered him not to, Magnus said.

“After maine making extended attempts to scope [Mayorkas] and sermon the matter, I went to the gathering truthful I could prosecute with the chiefs connected assorted issues and concerns,” Magnus said. “I besides met with Chief Ortiz to spot however we mightiness champion enactment unneurotic moving forward.”

With the imaginable for the House to flip to the Republicans, immoderate Republican lawmakers person called for Mayorkas’ impeachment, arsenic good arsenic accrued oversight of his agency.

“When it comes to the border, I was ne'er comfy saying the borderline was secure, but I was portion of an effort with galore different radical to marque it arsenic unafraid arsenic imaginable with a absorption connected radical and technology,” Magnus told The Times.

A Biden medication authoritative described Magnus arsenic “missing successful action” internally and not arsenic vocal connected migration matters arsenic different section leaders.

Another medication authoritative said that Magnus was regularly absent from meetings connected borderline argumentation and was not heavy progressive successful the decision-making connected cardinal borderline policies. The authoritative noted that Magnus did not person overmuch clip to recognize the bureau and was pushed retired of the process for immoderate cardinal decisions.

Both officials requested anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publically astir the issue.

Magnus said helium was not initially invited to meetings connected borderline argumentation but aboriginal attended astir each cardinal meetings.

John Sandweg, a erstwhile apical DHS authoritative during the Obama administration, said that Mayorkas astir apt wants idiosyncratic to beryllium a buffer betwixt him and the governmental fallout he’s facing.

“You person the raging issues astatine the border, and it is not going to get immoderate better. The caput does not privation to beryllium the look of this,” Sandweg said of Mayorkas.

Though Magnus wanted to absorption connected taste reforms, his superior occupation “is the border,” Sandweg added.

Ron Vitiello, a erstwhile Border Patrol main who led Immigration and Customs Enforcement nether Trump, said the Biden medication has mishandled migration policy.

The publicity surrounding the petition for Magnus’ resignation has been counterproductive, Vitiello said.

“I’m acrophobic astir the workforce. This is different happening they person connected their sheet that is unnecessary,” helium said. “This is simply a distraction that takes distant from the hard enactment they are doing and the situation they are in.”

Magnus roseate to nationalist prominence arsenic main of the Richmond, Calif., constabulary department, aboriginal becoming main successful Tucson.

“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,” helium said.

By Friday, Magnus said, entree to his authoritative Twitter relationship had been blocked.