![]() ![]() The problems underlying CBP’s almost theatrical failures trace back to its creation amid the post-9/11 reorganization of the Department of Homeland Security and have been exacerbated by a long-standing failure of leadership that goes up to both Congress and the White House and has lasted through three administrations. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he spent much of his tenure advocating for a series of dramatic, publicly telegraphed immigration raids that ended up playing out more quietly than expected over the weekend.īut CBP’s 16-year track record suggests the problems run deeper than one commissioner-especially an acting one-will be able to fix, and it’s even less clear whether Morgan is the man to fix it. He was appointed to be CBP‘s acting head last Sunday after a short stint as acting head of U.S. Now it will be Mark Morgan’s job to clean up these problems. (Both Border Patrol union President Brandon Judd and CBP did not respond to requests for comment for this piece.) One Border Patrol agent was arrested and charged with being a serial killer. Last week’s scandals followed months of worrisome headlines concerning CBP: At least 12 migrants have died in the agency’s custody since September, and its agents have been accused of everything from sexual abuse of migrant children, to trafficking firearms, to running down a border crosser with a truck. Agents were caught making racist comments in a Facebook group-a group that the chief of the Border Patrol evidently was a member of herself-and minting a commemorative coin mocking the idea of taking care of children and migrants. Border Patrol, as the agencies tasked with meeting record-setting numbers of migrants seeking asylum from violence in Central America reeled from personnel scandals, leadership scandals and the scandal of their treatment of those asylum-seekers. The visit capped one of the worst weeks in modern memory for the CBP and the U.S. “I knew we’d see a system that was overwhelmed.” “I was not surprised by what I saw,” the vice president told reporters. “The stench was horrendous,” the Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey wrote, noting that Border Patrol agents were wearing face masks and saying, “Pence appeared to scrunch his nose when entering the facility, stayed for a moment and left.” Nearly 400 migrants were crammed into a converted vehicle sally port many hadn’t showered in weeks, and space was so tight there was no room for cots for them to sleep. Customs and Border Protection, America’s most troubled law enforcement agency. Meant to pressure Democrats to address the migrant crisis at the southern border, the visit instead appeared to horrify those who accompanied Pence and raised pointed questions about U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s Friday visit to a Border Patrol detention facility in Texas didn’t go according to plan. He is the author of, among other books, The Threat Matrix: Inside Robert Mueller's FBI. ![]() Graff ( is a journalist, historian, and executive director of The Aspen Institute’s Cybersecurity & Technology Program. ![]()
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