Less than one year into his official tenure as head of the 60,000+ employees of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, former Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus is coming under attack for his perceived disinterest in parts of his job, according to an article published Monday by Politico.
The article cites several criticisms from five unnamed Biden administration officials who work with Magnus, who as CBP commissioner oversees the U.S. Border Patrol, the Office of Field Operations, and the Air & Marine Operations.
Magnus issued a statement to Politico about the attacks on his performance, suggesting his managerial style makes some people uneasy.
According to Magnus, he has been “closely involved in the major DHS immigration, border security, trade, and other policy discussions” despite needing to get up to speed on “many complex areas” these last 10 months. And at times that has involved him “aggressively” questioning the status quo.
“In any organization, some people are threatened by this,” he told Politico. “They don’t like it when someone questions ‘why’ certain things must be done the way they’ve always been done. I’m not here to back down to the predictable challenges from those people.”
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre also tried to brush off the article, telling reporters Magnus “plays a key role” in the country’s enforcement of border security and immigration. But the key role Magnus plays apparently does not include team building.
The Politico article reveals Magnus compiled a list of criticisms about how Tae D. Johnson, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is running that agency. He also “badmouths other agencies,” according to the article.
ICE, through its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including the detention and supervised release of undocumented individuals, as well as the removal of those individuals from the U.S. to more than 170 countries.
Johnson and Magnus both report to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The list was reportedly presented to Mayorkas during one of his trips to the border with Magnus.
Another criticism revealed by the White House insiders to Politico involved Magnus’ decisions to not personally participate in many “high-level interagency” discussions. And when he did attend, Magnus sometimes fell asleep during the meetings, the insiders said.
Magnus acknowledged having a problem with fatigue, which he explained has been a side effect of multiple sclerosis. An adjustment was made to his medication levels to address that problem, he told Politico.
At Tucson PD, Magnus led a local agency one-tenth the size of CBP, which the country’s largest federal law enforcement agency with a presence in dozens of countries and U.S. territories. He was nominated by President Joe Biden as CBP Commission in April 2021, but the U.S. Senate did not have enough votes for confirmation until last December.
Democrat @SenMarkKelly gave Biden border appointee Chris Magnus a glowing job recommendation and helped "launch" his confirmation.
Now Magnus' own colleagues at CBP are sounding the alarm that he's incompetent.
Thanks a lot, Mark Kelly.#AZSEN https://t.co/OT1rGV7EML pic.twitter.com/9NyHN2srKN
— Ben Petersen (@bennpetersen) October 17, 2022
Magnus’ nomination was strongly opposed by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich as well as the Arizona Sheriffs Association and the National Sheriffs’ Association. Among the reasons for the opposition was Magnus’ lack of federal law enforcement experience, his longtime support of sanctuary cities, and his frequent refusal to work with immigration authorities.
Opposition Grows As Magnus Prepares For U.S. Senate Confirmation Hearing To Head CBP
Last month, the Arizona Sheriffs Association announced a “No Confidence” vote related to Magnus’ work as CBP Commissioner.
Arizona Sheriff’s Association Tells Biden They Have “No Confidence” In CBP Chief Chris Magnus