Immigration

Customs and Border Protection Chief Resigns After Initially Refusing to Step Down

Magnus had initially refused to step down from his job after a request by the Biden administration an official from the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News

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The head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection has resigned from his job leading the nation’s largest law enforcement agency as agents encounter record numbers of migrants entering the U.S. from Mexico.

Chris Magnus submitted his resignation to President Joe Biden on Saturday, saying it had been “a privilege and honor” to be part of the administration.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had accepted Magnus' resignation. “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,” she said.

Two people who were briefed on the matter told The Associated Press on Friday that Magnus was told to resign or be fired less than a year after he was confirmed. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to address the matter publicly.

Magnus had initially refused to step down from his job after a request by the Biden administration an official from the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News.

Magnus's removal is part of a larger shakeup expected at Homeland Security as it struggles to manage migrants coming from a wider range of countries, including Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. This comes as Republicans are likely to take control of the House in January and are expected to launch investigations into the border.

Migrants were stopped 2.38 million times at the Mexican border in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up 37% from the year before. The annual total surpassed 2 million for the first time in August and is more than twice the highest level during Donald Trump’s presidency, in 2019.

The Los Angeles Times was first to report on the ultimatum. In a statement to the newspaper, Magnus said he was asked by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to step down or be fired.

Two planes of about 50 migrants arrived in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts on Wednesday night from Florida, by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Massachusetts officials say the planes initially came from Texas. DeSantis’ move is just one of many by Republican governors to send migrants elsewhere in the U.S. in what they consider to be a failure of the Biden Administration's border policies. Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell law school joins LX to discuss this ongoing migrant crisis.
Copyright The Associated Press
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