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‘He’s not in the game’: Biden’s top border chief blasted for literally sleeping on the job amid border crisis

October 17, 2022 | | Print Article

With midterms fast approaching and no end in sight to the flood of migrants illegally crossing into America at the southern border, officials within the Biden administration are voicing their frustration with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Chris Magnus, who they say is disconnected and often dozes off during important meetings.

According to a report in Politico, “Five current administration officials who work with CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus portrayed him as unengaged in his job, saying he often doesn’t attend White House meetings on the situation on the border, badmouths other agencies to colleagues and superiors, and has not built relationships within CBP and across other agencies to address the influx of migrants at the border.”

The sources tell the outlet that Magnus is more concerned with “reforming the culture of the Border Patrol, addressing its long list of allegations of racism and violence” than he is with getting to know CBP operations.

Rather than tackle the thousands of migrants who jump the border each day, Magnus, they say, prefers to blame other agencies.

“As an example, two of the five current administration officials said Magnus brought his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, pages of grievances about Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Politico writes. “While CBP is responsible for securing U.S. borders at and between ports of entry, ICE is the agency responsible for arresting and detaining undocumented people within U.S. borders.”

One administration official familiar with the matter told Politico that Magnus had gathered from the “rank and file” members of Border Patrol a list of complaints about ICE, which he then shared with Mayorkas and other senior DHS officials at an “emergency” meeting.

“He’s not in the game,” another of the administration officials said. “Every time there’s a meeting and he’s in it, we’ll get to a conclusion and Magnus will have some sidebar issue that he wants to raise and we’re all like ‘What the f**k is that about?'”

Six separate “internal critics” told Politico that, on multiple occasions, Magnus could be seen sleeping through important meetings, “including one earlier this year on how to handle the current swell of Venezuelans crossing the border.”

According to Magnus, his unscheduled naps were the result of side effects from medication he takes for multiple sclerosis, a condition for which he received a diagnosis 15 years ago. The CBP chief said he has since adjusted his meds.

“Ironically, the most common complaint I’ve received from colleagues is about my tendency to ask too many questions in meetings and my desire to know what some believe is more than necessary on various topics,” he told Politico, adding that he intends “to remain fully engaged in the work of leading CBP and advocating on behalf of those who work here as well as for the American public.”

DHS continues to back Magnus, with a spokesperson saying that he “plays a key role” in the agency’s “$60 million anti-human smuggler campaign.”

But other officials disagree, claiming that Magnus has neither the knowledge nor the interest in critical immigration issues, often sending a deputy to participate in “high-level interagency calls” on the matter.

“One of the current administration officials said Mayorkas, in turn, often relied upon CBP’s deputy commissioner, Troy Miller, or its chief of staff, Nathaniel Kaine, or Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz for help,” Politico reports.

“Operationally he’s not even in the conversation,” the official said. “He knows the border, but the ins-and-outs and the size and capabilities of CBP is pretty far outside his remit and understanding how to deal with other parts of the administration.”

Melissa Fine
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