Officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a statement of apology this past weekend in the wake of one of its members using the official CB{ Twitter account to promote a series of tweets put out by a former top Trump official that was heavily critical of the various policies of the Biden administration.
The official Twitter account for CBP West Texas highlighted, via retweet, a series of posts from Stephen Miller, a former Trump senior adviser, this past weekend concerning the border and crime taking place on the streets of America.
“Violent criminals lay waste to our communities undisturbed while the immense power of the state is arrayed against those whose only crime is dissent,” stated Miller. “The law has been turned from a shield to protect the innocent into a sword to conquer them.”
“The media’s greatest power is its ability to frame what is a dire national crisis (eg ‘cops are racist’ summer ‘20) and what is not,” he tacked on. “Biden’s eradication of our border means we are no longer a Republic—he’s ended nearly 250 years of constitutional government. The media is silent.”
Adam Isacson, a left-wing activist, leaped up in fake outrage online, exclaiming: “This is one of the most egregious examples I’ve ever seen of a US federal law enforcement agency defying elected political leadership in official communications.”
What is up with the @CBPWestTexas Twitter feed right now? This is one of the most egregious examples I’ve ever seen of a US federal law enforcement agency defying elected political leadership in official communications. pic.twitter.com/iON2AmqPqs
— Adam Isacson (@adam_wola) September 10, 2022
Chris Magnus, the Commissioner of the CBP, put out his own statement concerning the pair of tweets on Saturday evening, Calling the posts “offensive,” going on to add “this must not happen again.”
At no point in the tweet from Magnus or in his official statement did he make an attempt to claim that the comments from Miller were in any way misleading or false.
“Totally unacceptable and disappointing that any CBP Twitter account was used to [retweet] offensive, unauthorized content,” stated Magnus in another post. “We’ve removed the content and will deactivate the account. The Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate. This must not happen again.”
As part of an official statement, Magnus continued: “U.S. Customs and Border Protection has become aware of unauthorized and inappropriate content that was posted to the @CBPWestTexas Twitter account.”
“CBP will take action to deactivate the account and has referred the matter to the Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate,” the statement went on to say. “The tweets do not reflect the values of this administration and our work to rebuild a humane, orderly, and secure immigration system.”
Totally unacceptable and disappointing that any CBP Twitter account was used to R/T offensive, unauthorized content. We’ve removed the content and will deactivate the account. The Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate. This must not happen again. pic.twitter.com/O0Vwr3K7nI
— CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus (@CBPChrisMagnus) September 11, 2022