U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Chris Magnus said friction with the U.S. Border Patrol’s “jarring” employee union has complicated efforts to improve worker morale and the agency’s culture.
The National Border Protection Council, which represents about 18,000 agents, is an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies and supports many of the administration’s Republican opponents at the state and federal levels.
“It’s a big deal when there’s a constant push for very political influence,” Magnus said in an interview. He pointed to those who say “everything about the policies and practices of what you’re doing is wrong”, calling such opinions “hard to counter”.
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Photo: Rod Lamkey/CNP/Bloomberg
Chris Magnus speaks at the hearing to be named Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection on October 19, 2021.
Magnus explained the dynamic on Thursday during a wide-ranging conversation with Bloomberg reporters and editors. He also responded to recent criticism of being unmotivated in some parts of the job and ignorant in others.
National Border Security Council President Brandon Judd hit back at Magnus’ criticism of the union’s political message.
“Our agents want Commissioner Magnus to follow us when he fails his job,” he said. I want us to be politically involved so that we can understand what is going on.”
He added that 90% of border guards are voluntary, dues-paying union members.
morale, transparency
In less than a year in office, Magnus, the former police chief of Tucson, Arizona, said he has ambitious plans to improve the agency’s morale, accountability and transparency.
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He said most border guards and field operations officers (who work along the border and at ports of entry, respectively) are professionally responding to the changes. “But there are always loud voices who want to speak for everyone,” added Magnus.
The struggle for the workforce comes against a backdrop of rapidly changing border policies and contentious politics as the United States struggles to accommodate record numbers of immigrant encounters on the U.S.-Mexico border. The National Border Security Council said morale had “deeply plummeted” as a result.
Magnus acknowledged the problem: “Morale, especially within the border guards, is not good.”
One of Border Patrol agents’ recent frustrations is the handling of an investigation into the behavior of an agent last year who was seen turning the reins on horseback while chasing Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas. . Although the incident predated Magnus’ confirmation, he oversaw the completion of the investigation and found no evidence that the agents attacked the immigrants, but concluded that they used excessive force. The union called the findings “disgraceful BS.”
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CBP’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, has struggled for years to improve employee satisfaction, especially in high-stress departments such as CBP and the Transportation Security Administration.
workplace change
Magnus increased mental health resources for personnel, hired workers to do processing tasks that were overloading Border Patrol agents, and made minor changes to address employee-specific concerns. Advertised additional efforts. He goes home at night instead of leaving the dog in the kennel.
The union’s Judd said he couldn’t credit Magnus for helping with the process, and that the plans predated Magnus’ tenure.Field.
Magnus said he expects a big backlash as the new leader of such a large institution.CBP has more than 60,000 employees.
He also dismissed complaints about asking too basic questions at some meetings and skipping others, reported in a Politico article this week that cited unnamed government sources.
“Not everyone is enthusiastic or open about new people coming in and starting to flip some rocks,” Magnus said.
To contact the reporter of this article: Ellen M. Gilmer in Washington egilmer@bloombergindustry.com
To contact the editor responsible for this article: Sarah Babbage and sbabbage@bgov.com; Robin Mesory and rmeszoly@bgov.com
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