CBP Nominee Pledges to Control Migrants, Plus CBP’s New Gadget to Prevent Contraband Border Crossing
Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus, President Biden’s nominee to lead Customs and Border Protection (CBP), stated he would support COVID vaccines and testing for migrants arrested by CBP during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Further, Chief Magnus expressed support to closing gaps in the border wall that was started during the Trump Administration.
CBP has faced criticism from lawmakers in both parties, particularly with concern to the handling of Haitian migrants. If confirmed, Chief Magnus told Senators he would improve training to raise the sensitivity of CBP personnel.
“I think humanity has to be part of the discussion early and often throughout the careers of CBP members,” Chief Magus explained, “We do our jobs enforcing the law, but how we engage with the public, even the public we may be arresting, is what defines us as professionals, and it’s something we have a moral obligation to do.”
The Washington Post reports border arrests have skyrocketed under the Biden Administration, with U.S. authorities detaining more than 1.7 million migrants along the Mexico border during the 2021 fiscal year. In July and August, more than 200,000 migrants were taken into custody.
The Department of Homeland Security is in talks with the Government of Mexico to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to wait outside U.S. territory while their cases are processed.
“Migration to the U.S.-Mexico border is now truly global. The implications for immigration policy require a far more comprehensive approach because it’s not enough to say you have to deter migration from Mexico or Central America. This has become a far more complex problem for the administration to deal with,” stated Cris Ramón, an independent immigration consultant in Washington.
As CBP attempts to bolster border security, they have introduced new technology to balance safety and security. One method, passive thermal scanning, is a non-intrusive method to detect weapons and other contraband without physically searching every individual who is crossing the border.
According to a document released by CBP, “The reviewing officer may identify the absence of emitted thermal energy that may represent solid or liquid objects with known shapes, such as a weapon, or amorphous shapes, such as radiological material, explosives, or other contraband.”