Biden nominates Trump critic as CBP head
President Joe Biden picked Chris Magnus, the police chief of Tucson, Ariz., and a critic of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies, to lead Customs and Border Protection, one of six new leaders at the Department of Homeland Security.
If confirmed, Mr. Magnus would be expected to address how to handle a record numberof border crossings projected to increase in the coming months.
The Biden administration has failed to safely move thousands of children and teenagers from jails run by the Border Patrol into shelters throughout the United States.
Members of Congress have called for more accountability measures at Customs and Border Protection after it was revealed in 2019 dozens of border agents had joined Facebook groups and other social media pages that included obscene images of Hispanic lawmakers and threats to members of Congress.
Mr. Biden, who campaigned on increasing oversight at Customs and Border Protection, chose not a veteran of the agency but rather a progressive police chief who promoted community policing efforts while overseeing departments in Tucson and Richmond, Calif. Mr. Biden chose him because of those efforts to reform departments, as well as his recent work policing a city close to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a White House official.