New US Customs and Border Patrol chief to take office amid controversy
Mark Morgan will today begin his role as Commissioner of US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
Morgan, a controversial immigration hardliner, takes over CBP in the midst of public outcry over the agency’s maltreatment of detained children, which includes limited access to food, sanitary products and medical care. At least six children have died in CBP custody in the last year. The agency has blamed a lack of federal funding and an unprecedented surge in migrants from the “Northern Triangle”– Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala– for its inability to adequately house detainees.
Even in the sweltering summer months ahead, migration from the Northern Triangle will continue to surge as long as the regional security situation continues to deteriorate.
Though the Trump administration rescinded its threat to cut hundreds of millions of dollars to the three aforementioned countries, it has affirmed that it will not allow new aid funding until the Northern Triangle governments can reduce migrant flows. However, without adequate funding, there is little the local governments can do to quell emigration. As long as Trump withholds funds over the next year, expect CBP to continue to struggle with high rates of migration from the Northern Triangle.
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