Border Patrol Agent

Border Patrol Agent

Oscar

Charleston, SC

Male, 31

Spent a bit over four years (2006-2010) serving as a Border Patrol Agent in Tucson Sector, AZ: the busiest sector in the country. Worked numerous positions, and spent the last year and a half operating/instructing ground radar installations. Duties included: field patrols, transport, processing, control room duties, transportation check, checkpoint operations, static watch duties, etc.

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Last Answer on November 08, 2016

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Were you impressed with the caliber of people you worked with? Should the American public have confidence that US Border Patrol is competent and fair?

Asked by dan79 over 12 years ago

I was pretty impressed with the caliber of people in the Border Patrol.  The academy, while not extremely tough was tough enough to weed out the idiots.  There was a huge range of people in the Patrol.  A large portion of ex-military folks (ranging from simple 4-year in/outs up to PJ's, some older SF types, USMC Corpsmen etc.).

A smaller number of prior law enforcement types, and then the rest were normal people like myself with no particularly advantageous background (college grads and non-college grads).

The overwhelming amount of political correctness and red tape means that in most cases the Border Patrol is a bit "too fair".  Sometimes you need to cut the nonsense and get the job done, something that the agency itself hinders very often.  It's a very politcal job as you can imagine.  You'd be amazed how often we were subtly told to do our job...less well.

Like any job, and profession you do have a small number of idiots.  There seems to be a flawed public perception that all law enforcement agents/officers should be angellic beings of good who dole out divine justice etc.  Nope.  Agents were normal people too.  With overy 16,000 agents you definitely would have some bad apples.

There was a website active when I was serving called "Trust Betrayed" or something to that effect.  It was a website run by the agency highlighting agents and customs folks who had become criminals or had been caught breaking the law etc.  It happens.  Not often, but it's simple reality.  So, on the off chance that you run into that one dirtbag, your experience may be different than most.

As a whole, yes, the agency is competent and fair.

What kind of info do u see when a passport is swiped? Sometimes when I cross from Canada it takes the agent a while, like they're looking something up, other times they just say have a nice trip. What are you guys looking at when it takes so long?

Asked by Curious almost 12 years ago

Not sure, as I have never worked a proper Port of Entry (POE).  Perhaps you can find a customs guy on Jobstr who will have more experience with passport information.

Was it depressing that the border was such a revolving door? Did you feel like you were making a difference when a new crop of illegals would show up every day?

Asked by Isaac over 12 years ago

Yep, very depressing and stressful.  Living in AZ it's more than obvious we're not making much of a difference.  From Phoenix to the border the state has been flooded with illegal immigrants.  You'd see hundreds daily just on the drive in to work.  So, short answer - no I did not feel like we were making much of a difference.

It was also very obvious from the agency perspective that there was no genuine desire to effect real change.  The USBP is about 50% just a dog and pony show.  But we all knew that.  We busted our butts, worked hard - but at the end of the day we knew the government etc. was not genuinely serious about "closing the border".

Is it true that an illegal immigrant caught on the U.S side of the border can be released into the states after getting some paper work done and not deported to his or her country ? More specifically a european illegal not hispanic.

Asked by John Davis almost 12 years ago

Not unless they have re-introduced the OR or "Own recognizance" statute.  This was the ridiculously flawed and useless process used in the late 80's and early 90's whereby an illegal immigrant would sign a document stating he would return at a specific date to be processed and deported (due to lack of holding facilities).  Needless to say...NONE of these people ever showed back up to be deported, and the immigration services had no way of tracking them down.  So, back in the day?  Yes.  Currently?  Not that I've heard of.  Now, perhaps local police departments or Sheriff's offices do something like this - but normally they simply call up the local ICE or CBP office and turn them over.

What happens when you catch someone who has no ID whatsoever? On what basis can you prove he's not an American and is in the country illegally?

Asked by Broseph over 12 years ago

It's quite easy actually.  During the interview/processing, it is very easy to establish whether someone is a citizen or not.  This is also why we process everyone we catch.  Once you're caught crossing the border (which, by the way, is illegal for U.S. citizens as well - you're required to cross at a designated Port of Entry, through customs etc.) you're processed into the immigration database.

O.T.M's frequently would travel with no documents, trying to masquerade as Mexicans (because it was easier to pretend to be a Mexican, and be returned to the border...as opposed to being flown back to their native country).  A simple interview would reveal their false claims very simply.  This is part of your training, basic interrogration techniques.

There was never a case during my time in the Patrol where we had an issue revealing someone's true origin/identity.  Proper names etc. were another story.  I'd say perhaps 50-70% of illegals had a number of aliases/false names/identities, stolen or forged social security numbers etc.  In this instance, a person's identity in the U.S. legal system is that name/identity under which they originally were processed.

Oh, and did you see someone tried to blow up Sheriff Joe last week?? I'd imagine he has a lot of enemies by now!

Asked by brig4 over 12 years ago

We could do with a lot more Sheriff Joes in this world.  He is a dying breed.  For someone that people complain about a lot, he's been in office now for what 15-20 years and keeps getting re-elected?  He's doing his job (a difficult one at that).  The modern world seems to hate people with real work ethic or real opinions/values.

I applaud the guy.  He has way too many enemies...that, if anyting, proves he's doing a hell of a job.

How can I get a copy of my "border control / immigration permanent record"?

Asked by Geoseff over 11 years ago

Contact your consulate and have them contact CBP.