Christopher J. Magnus (born October 26, 1960)[1][2][3] is a former American law enforcement professional who served as the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2021 to 2022.

[2][9] There were 38 homicides in Richmond in Magnus's first year,[10] 47 in 2007, when by crimes per resident it was the ninth most dangerous city in the country,[3] and also in 2009, but only 11 in 2014, the lowest number since 1971.

[15] A judge issued a summary judgement in the city's favor on some of the remaining claims in summer 2016, and the rest were dismissed by agreement in February 2017.

[1][9][16] He described the photograph, which was widely circulated and was disapproved of by many in the department,[1][3][8][11][17] as happening spontaneously after a participant asked to take a selfie with him when he and his command staff were at the protest talking to people, and had sent out for pizza to feed the crowd.

[18] In December 2017 he published a New York Times op-ed arguing that President Donald Trump's and Attorney General Jeff Sessions's policy of firm opposition to local sanctuary city policies would be damaging to policing;[19][20] in March his department had declined to assist Border Patrol agents pursuing an escaped detainee.

The incident occurred two months before in April, but was not made public until June 22, when officers' body cameras were released to news media.

[citation needed] In April 2021, Magnus was nominated by President Joe Biden to become the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner.