Our beloved Chief of Police will soon be nominated for the vitally important role of administering our nation’s borders. This is a particularly fraught time as the number of unaccompanied minors rises unsustainably without systems put in place to care for and place these children with family members while their asylum applications are processed.
An intellectually lazy national media, unable to comprehend the nuance of dealing with real people, make it more difficult. Consequently, they often dehumanize them and transform them into numbers meant for political theater. Thankfully, if anyone has the experience and temperament necessary to navigate these turbulent waters, it’s our very own Chris Magnus. That is why I think Chris Magnus will make a great commissioner (and the first openly gay leader) of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection department.
Why Chris Magnus is Great for CBP
While it will be sad to see him go, Chris Magnus has been a transformational figure in Tucson and the greater Pima County. Additionally, his reign ushered in numerous reforms meant on making Tucson and safer and more equitable place, including:
- Tucson Safe Spaces Program
- Worked Closely with Arizona’s LGBT Commission to advance legislation geared toward the advancement of the LGBT community
- Notably marched with Black Lives Matter protestors, lending support to their cause
Chris is a consensus builder. He has shown to work well with anyone dedicated to improving the lives of our citizenry. Above all, He is a reformer and an agitator for progress in a field (law enforcement) that isn’t exactly known for changing with the times.
Awarded by the Police Executive Research Forum for his work, Chris created programs that serve as models for police agencies across the country. Among these programs were new processes to review incidents and promote officer wellness and mental health.
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
I would like to take a moment to thank Chris Magnus for his tireless advancement of community-based policing and his dedication to improving the quality of life for all Tucsonans. He has certainly been an inspirational leader! While we will surely miss him, I wish him the best of luck in his new endeavor. Immigrants along the Southern Border deserve the same compassion as any other human. Their petitions for asylum need to be efficiently and humanely processed. Chris Magnus is the perfect person to implement the needed reforms to this needlessly convoluted process and make America live up to it’s once lofty creed:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”
Have a fun day,
Tony Ray ?