CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus is being forced out of his role

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Former Tucson Police Chief, Chris Magnus, is being forced out of his current role as the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

This comes as the number of illegal crossings at the border is at an all-time high.

In a statement, Magnus responded by saying he isn’t going anywhere, and he’s excited about the progress that’s been made.

Magnus has been the CBP commissioner for less than a year. He’s taken criticism because of recent border crossing surges.

Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council, Art Del Cueto said, while he feels like Magnus could’ve done more, he doesn’t feel like Magnus is the whole problem.

″Now that they’re realizing that there is a problem. If they’re going to remove Magnus and they don’t want him in that role, then they have to admit that there is a problem and now they need to start doing something to fix the problem,” said Del Cueto.

Del Cueto has seen too many people to count in the role of Custom and Border Protection Commissioner and this is the worst he’s ever seen the border.

Magnus has been asked to resign, but said he won’t step down from his role and he’s defended his record.

″It’s a difficult job, that we know, but there is no job that has been done,” Del Cueto said about what Magnus has done in his role.

But Del Cueto said the issues at the border aren’t all Magnus’s fault and he doesn’t think forcing him out will make a difference.

“I don’t believe it’s going to fix anything until all of them admit that there’s a problem and all of them decide that they want to fix it,” he said. “So far, during this administration’s tenure, they have not admitted that there is a problem and they have not wanted to fix the problem.”

According to the Associated Press, migrants were stopped 2.38 million times in the most recent fiscal year. That’s up 37% from the year before.

″It’s been collective that we’re in the mess that we’re in and it’s not just one individual. Certainly I don’t think magnus isn’t an individual that doesn’t have a role in it, you know he’s in a leadership position. More should’ve been done about border security, but I think there’s a lot of blame out there, not just him,” said Del Cueto.

KOLD News 13 reached out to Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security for a statement. Neither responded, but we will continue to keep you updated on this developing story.

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