Congresswoman Tenney, House Republicans Call for CBP Commissioner’s Resignation

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) on Tuesday joined a letter led by Congressman Jody Hice (GA-10) to President Joe Biden calling on Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Director Chris Magnus to resign amid reports that he is unengaged in his job, as the crisis at the Southern Border grows ever more severe.

On October 17, 2022, reporting from Politico alleged that CBP Chief Magnus was unengaged in his job, skipped White House meetings on the Border Crisis, badmouthed other agencies, and failed to build relationships needed to secure the border. In the meantime, the crisis at the Southern Border has continued to grow exponentially. In fiscal year 2022 (FY22), there were more than 2.37 million illegal border crossings, a record for a single fiscal year. In September alone, there were 227,547 illegal crossings—12% more than the previous month, and a 200% increase from the last September of the Trump administration. In less than two years, the Biden administration has already surpassed the total number of encounters in the entirety of the Obama administration. Furthermore, over 14,000 pounds of fentanyl were seized at the border by CBP agents.

In part, the lawmakers wrote, “This behavior is highly problematic considering the United States is experiencing the worst border-crossing crisis in this country’s history, with a record 2,378,944 encounters at the southern border for Fiscal Year 2022. It is critical to secure our borders and that requires an engaged Commissioner leading CBP toward success in its three core missions of counterterrorism, border security, and trade enforcement."

In September 2022, Congresswoman Tenney also introduced the DIRECT Funds for Border Security Act to redirect funds from Biden’s increased IRS audits of middle-income Americans to CBP for the purpose of hiring and training new officers.

Read the full letter here.

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