US Customs and Border Protection commissioner resigns

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

President Joe Biden has accepted the resignation of US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Christopher Magnus, the White House said Saturday.

Biden thanked Magnus for “nearly forty years of service,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and added that he “wishes him well.”

Magnus had been asked to resign by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week, according to two sources familiar with the matter. He submitted his resignation to Biden on Saturday, which is effective immediately.

Magnus has been criticized internally for being out of touch with the agency and publicly for the handling of the US-Mexico border. During his tenure, officials have told CNN they believed Magnus seemed disengaged and wasn’t joining some internal meetings at a critical time for the agency.

The resignation comes after Magnus had said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times on Friday that he planned to stay at the agency.

“I am excited about the progress I made and look forward continuing that work,” he said.

CBP Deputy Commissioner Troy Miller will serve as the acting commissioner beginning immediately, according to an email from Mayorkas to CBP employees on Saturday, obtained by CNN.

CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment.

President Joe Biden tapped Magnus, who served as police chief in Tucson, Arizona, to helm CBP — the largest federal law enforcement agency and the second-largest revenue-collecting source in the federal government.

Late last year, the Senate confirmed Magnus after months of confirmation setbacks that left the agency with a void at the top amid a record number of border arrests.

Magnus came in at a time when Customs and Border Protection, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, faced an influx of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border and grappled with travel restrictions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

US Border Patrol, a division of Customs and Border Protection, made over 2.2 million arrests in fiscal year 2022 for unlawful crossings on the US-Mexico border, the highest annual number of apprehensions on record.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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