OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Chris Magnus resigned as the commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner. Reports suggested that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and others forced him out and attempted to blame him for many of the failures at the southern border.
“The President has accepted the resignation of Christopher Magnus, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. President Biden appreciates Commissioner Magnus’ nearly forty years of service and the contributions he made to police reform during his tenure as police chief in three U.S. cities. The President thanks Mr. Magnus for his service at CBP and wishes him well,” the White House said in a statement.
Magnus said he was resigning “immediately” in his letter.
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Senate-confirmed Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection over the past year. It has been a privilege and honor to be part of your administration,” he said. “I am submitting my resignation effective immediately but wish you and your administration the very best going forward. Thank you again for this tremendous opportunity.”
Magnus will join an organization focused on police reform and he wasted little time slamming the Biden administration.
“Now he’s joining the Policing Project, a nonprofit at NYU’s School of Law that’s focused on reforming police departments around the country. He says questions about hiring, training, and reform exist across all levels of law enforcement. Before joining CBP, Magnus spent 40 years heading police departments, most recently in Tucson. As a senior adviser for public safety at the Policing Project, he says he wants to put what he learned both at CBP and within local departments into practice,” Front Desk reported.
“At CBP for example, that’s going to involve migrants and local community members and stakeholders dealing with issues at the border, you know, issues of use of force apply across the board. My experience is that communities first of all want agencies to be transparent about what’s going on, even when the news isn’t always good. They want data on the website. … They want body camera footage to be available. But they also want accountability in the form of assurance that if they make a complaint, it’s going to be handled,” Magnus said.
Former CBP head Chris Magnus to join police reform nonprofit the Policing Project | Fronteras https://t.co/cvHV4eFro3
— Chris Magnus (@CMAGNUS20011) January 12, 2023
Chris Magnus, who was pushed out of his role as President Biden’s Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, weighs in on the administration’s recent border announcement: https://t.co/Vm622zY6hj
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) January 9, 2023
Texas Republican Rep. Pat Fallon has filed articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“The articles of impeachment against Mayorkas for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ known as House Resolution 8, were introduced by Fallon in the House on Monday and have been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Last week, Fallon vowed to file impeachment articles against Mayorkas after the Congress was sworn in. The effort from Republicans in the House is one of many that the new GOP majority will take as it works to fight the Biden administration on issues related to immigration and the southern border crisis,” Fox News reported.
“Since day one, Secretary Mayorkas’ policies have undermined law enforcement activities at our southern border. From perjuring himself before Congress about maintaining operational control of the border to the infamous ‘whip-gate’ slander against our border patrol agents, Secretary Mayorkas has proven time and time again that he is unfit to lead the Department of Homeland Security. His willful actions have eroded our immigration system, undermined border patrol morale, and jeopardized American national security. He has violated the law and it is time for him to go,” Fallon said last week.
The first article of impeachment accuses Mayorkas of failing to faithfully execute the “Secure the Fence Act of 2006,” which is a law requiring the DHS secretary to “maintain operational control over the entire international land and maritime borders of the United States.”
The second article alleges that Mayorkas, “in violation of his constitutional oath, willfully provided perjurious, false, and misleading testimony to Congress.”
The third and final article says Mayorkas “publicly and falsely slandered” border agents who were accused and cleared of whipping Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas, in 2021.
“The 511-page report by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Personal Responsibility found ‘no evidence that [Border Patrol agents] involved in this incident struck, intentionally or otherwise, any migrant with their reins,’” Fallon writes. “Secretary Mayorkas slandered his own Border Patrol agents and TXDPS Troopers involved in this incident, contributing to a further decrease in already-low morale among agents.”
"Since day one, Secretary Mayorkas’s policies have undermined law enforcement activities at our southern border," Fallon said in a statement to Fox News last week. https://t.co/hftfUT5LAR
— Kyle Morris (@RealKyleMorris) January 10, 2023
