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

Best Rated

I guess I'm not really clear on this but do agents routinely patrol their sectors looking for illegals (like cops on a beat) or are they directed to areas when motion sensors are tripped or suspects are reported, etc.

Asked by C L Smith about 12 years ago

All of the above.  While it depends a lot on terrain and your local conditions, you have a large array of operations.

In our area we had a few "X"s...these are static locations watching a particular point of interest.  You then had patroling units, which would actively be cutting for sign (footprints, debris, trash, spoor) which would indicate a recent group or vehicles.  You also had static ground-sweeping radar.  You had bike units which would operate further in from the border.  You also had occasional aviation units when we could spare them.

In addition to this you have a large number of magnetic and seismic sensors which would register back at the station.  During the day, we also had a Horse Patrol unit which specialized in rougher terrain (they were quite good up in the more mountainous regions).

Now, in some places like Nogales (nicknamed "Nogadishu" for the level of violence about a decade ago) it's an entirely different situation, as the USBP there is operating inside a city etc.  Likewise, some stations operate solely in the mountains and operate heavily by airlifting agents around in helicopters etc.

It varies immensely by station.

Even if a Wall is infeasible, wouldn't cameras and motion sensors the entire length of the Mexican border be much easier and at least raise the rate of interceptions?

Asked by Bucknell over 12 years ago

We have a lot of the border under surveillance, but it's never enough.  Also the desert is an extremely diverse environment.  Dense brush, cliffs, outcroppings, washes (dry creekbeds), etc. make it very difficult to observe all of it.

Places with open expanses do rely on large networks of cameras.  All along the border we also have sensors or various types (magnetic, seismic etc.) to detect groups and vehicles.  However these don't always work, and are often set off by cattle or locals, or even BP Agents etc.

I worked for a bit over a year and a half in radar trucks which are fantastic.  However these are expensive, and we never had enough of them.  They were placed in high traffic areas.  They were extremely effective - moreso than any other tactic we used.

Also, it's very common for BP Agents to detect, sight, or even chase a group and not catch it.  So our detection numbers may be high, but actual apprehension numbers much lower.  It would not be uncommon to have more groups on my radar screen than I had assets to pursue.  You'd simply prioritize and catch as many as you could.

So, the theory is sound - but in practice is extremely difficult to monitor the entire border as it stands now.  Also, groups/cartel guys learn where the cameras are, and simply avoid them.  You do see more tunnels in areas which feature heavy camera presence.

I know that the Border Patrol buys its dogs from independent vendors, so I am wondering if the Border Patrol has a standard for the dogs it uses?

Asked by C L Smith about 12 years ago

The vast majority of our canines (at least our normal detection/tracking canines) were actually imported from the German Border Police (Bundesgrenschutz) canine school.  Most of the dogs we received had actually failed bite-dog school, and had been repurposed.  This is why our K9 operators use many commands in German, as opposed to English.

Right before I left the BP was starting its bite-dog program, but they had a silly politically correct name for it (Patrol K9's was the term they used) because they were afraid of scaring people (?).  I do not know where the bite-dogs were sourced from.

All of the dogs I worked with were from the German schools.

If I know someone was caught entering the border but cant find them on the ICE locator what do I do. If he was killed how do I find his body?

Asked by karen about 12 years ago

I've never even heard of an ICE locator, but as ICE deals with internal immigration handling, if they have a locator it will only contain illegals who are serving jail time for other crimes.  The BP does not keep an active record of people in custody since most illegals are returned within 24 hours.

If someone is killed along the border (bandits, cartel etc.) the body will be handled by the local police department as with any other homicide.  If the person has no identification or records then they'll be buried without identity.  This is pretty common, as many people who die in the desert are consumed by wildlife within 24-36 hours, so identification becomes nearly impossible unless identification is carried by the person.

If a citizen of another country is found dead, and identified then the police department will likely contact their country of origin an attempt to locate relatives.

Is the opposition to building a giant wall the length of the border mostly economical ("we can't afford it"), pragmatic ("it wouldn't work") or political ("a wall is an antagonistic symbol of exclusion")?

Asked by Bucknell over 12 years ago

It's about 95% politics.  No party nor politician wants to be responsible for losing the Latin-American vote or ruffling the feathers of Mexico's government.  It would actually save us a lot of money in the long-run, given how much we spend on border security.

can a person that was caught crossing the border illegaly pay a fine and get released to a family member living in the United States

Asked by erika over 11 years ago

No.

if i become a border patrol , will i still be able to visit mexico?

Asked by jesus oceguera almost 12 years ago

You can.  I don't recommend it, for obvious reasons.  This has been discussed previously.