Photo: Mandel Ngan-Pool / Getty Images
With just three votes difference, 50 to 47, the Senate confirmed this Tuesday Chris Magnus, current Tucson, Arizona Police Chief, as the new commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection agency ( CBP ) , after a nomination that generates expectation among immigrant advocates.
Despite the fact that Magnus, an openly gay police officer, was critical of the policies of immigration of the former president Donald Trump and is already facing pressure from civil organizations to end the Title 42, implemented in the last administration and continued by President Joe Biden, in order to expeditiously expel hundreds of illegal immigrants for health reasons for the COVID pandemic – 19.
To express question during his hearing in the Senate Finance Committee, Magnus preferred not to extend his opinion on the Title 42 , considering that he did not have “enough information ”, but considered the importance of applying tests and vaccines to immigrants against coronavirus. He also emphasized that the boundary could not be definite as a monolith of conditions.
“It is essential to recognize that what we consider to be the border is not homogeneous and there is no single solution that provides us with a perfect border security, ”Magnus said in his opening statement. “So, if they confirm me, I will do what I have always done, which is to respect the law. I will hope without exception that all agency personnel are conscientious, fair and humane in enforcing the law. ”
Magnus began his career in security public in 1979 as dispatcher in the city of Lansing, indicated in his official Tucson Police profile, but he was also a paramedic in central Michigan for nearly a decade.
“In 1985 became a police officer for the Lansing Police Department, ”it adds. There he worked for 15 years. In 1999 he was appointed Chief of Police in Fargo, North Dakota, where he highlights that it had “a key role” in the implementation of the first regional dispatch system of two states in the nation.
) a forensic interview center for children and an immigrant and refugee liaison program for the many inhabitants of the area ”, it is indicated.
In 2006, Magnus was appointed Chief of Police for Richmond, California, where he served 10 years .
“He participated significantly in strengthening ties between the community and its police force… Both violent crime and property crime declined significantly during Magnus’s tenure “, it is presumed.
In 2016, Magnus was appointed Chief Police Department of Tucson , where it has implemented programs to improve services for victims of domestic and sexual violence, in addition to promoting strategies focused on how the Police respond to mentally ill people and supporting youth programs and activities.
Magnus has a Master’s Degree in Labor Relations and a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University Michigan State. He is married to Terrance Cheung, who accompanied him to his Senate hearing.
The 12 May this year, the White House sent its nomination to the Senate to lead CBP.
Controversy and demands
Magnus has not been without controversy, as last June he tried to resign, but his decision was rejected , after the death in April of the Hispanic Carlos Ingram López, when he was immobilized by agents in Tucson.
Civil organizations that defend immigrants and civil rights have asked Magnus for a more transparent CBP and respect for the law and human rights.
“We call to Commissioner Magnus to prioritize evidence-based decision-making at the border, in addition to ending the harmful Trump-era policies that this agency still administers, ”requested the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
BREAKING: The Senate just confirmed Chris Magnus as Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection.
We call upon Commissioner Magnus to prioritize evidence-based decision making at the border, and to end the harmful Trump-era policies this agency still administers.
– ACLU (@ACLU) December 7, 2021