Richmond Chief of Police Chris Magnus stands with demonstrators protesting Michael Brown and Eric Garner deaths during a peaceful demonstration in Richmond, California, on Dec. 9, 2014.
Posted on 04/15/2021 7:10:57 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
President Biden's expected pick to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Chris Magnus, has a record of defending sanctuary cities and resisting Trump administration orders about undocumented immigrants.
Magnus is currently police chief in Tucson, Arizona, where he made headlines for rejecting federal border security grant money from Operation Stonegarden in 2020 — a decision that earned him criticism from Tucson Police Officers Association head Tony Archibald.
"For years, this federally funded grant has paid for officer overtime to do proactive, on-site activity in high crime areas," Archibald said .
"The Stonegarden deployments have resulted in hundreds of arrests that would not have occurred without this federal money. Additionally, the Stonegarden deployments have taken countless guns and drugs off the streets of Tucson."
Years earlier, Magnus took issue with former Attorney General Jeff Session's immigration policies in a 2017 op-ed in The New York Times.
"I’m deeply troubled by the Trump administration’s campaign against 'sanctuary cities,' which refuse to turn over undocumented immigrants to federal authorities. Washington is trying to retaliate against them by withholding funding. Justice Department grants and other federal support funded through our taxes should not be tied to immigration policies."
Magnus clarified that Tucson is not a sanctuary city but its leaders "take pride in being welcoming to immigrants."
Also in 2017, Magnus' police department opposed orders from then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to prioritize enforcement operations for undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes .
"Entangling local policing with additional immigration enforcement responsibilities would seriously compromise our ability to maintain the trust and support of our diverse community," Magnus told The Arizona Republic.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Richmond Chief of Police Chris Magnus stands with demonstrators protesting Michael Brown and Eric Garner deaths during a peaceful demonstration in Richmond, California, on Dec. 9, 2014.
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