The head of US Customs and Border Protection reportedly fell asleep during a high-level meeting about how to deal with a massive influx of Venezuelan refugees entering the country along the US-Mexico border.
According to Politico, six sources confirmed seeing CBP head Chris Magnus nod off during “multiple meetings,” including the session on the Venezuelan refugee issue.
Mr Magnus told the newspaper that the critics who accused him of sleeping on the job were “either unfair or uninformed” because they were not taking into account the fact that he suffers from Multiple Sclerosis.
Mr Magnus said he was diagnosed with the disease a decade and a half ago and noted that it can cause “brief periods of tiredness”. He further explained that he has “adjusted his medication levels” to better handle those effects.
The criticism of Mr Magnus comes just weeks before the November midterm elections. Republicans have claimed Mr Biden’s policies amount to an “open border” that is contributing to increased levels of crime in the US, while the White House has stressed that it inherited a broken immigration system from the Trump administration.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Politico Mr Magnus “plays a key role” in CBP’s mission as a “critical component of the DHS-led $60 million anti-human smuggler campaign that has already led to 5,000 arrests with our partners”.
