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.
Short answer: yes. Law enforcement work of any type has statistically been very hard on families and relationships. Unfortunately law enforcement officers have a much higher rate of substance abuse, suicide, etc. It's a high stress line of work, working long hours, and dealing with the bottom of society. A lot of people live fine, normal lives - but the numbers are pretty bad. High rate of divorce is common. I do think the BP might be better than some local LEO work. I was away for an average of 11 hours a day, so if you have loved ones or family, it can be very taxing.
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It would make a transition to ICE much easier, but the FBI is never easy to get into. They recruit very specific people from very specific fields. It can't hurt your chances, but I would not join the BP planning on simply switching over to the FBI. The FBI posts what they're looking for on their website. You'd be better off getting a degree that they're interested in.
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Yep.
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That question will come up during your background investigation and/or polygraph test. I'm not sure what effect a positive answer would have in that situation. It is something that will come up for any government job which involves any level of security clearance though, and I doubt it can help.
Unfortunately in certain lines of work - those things you do on purpose or by accident as a young person can come back and bite you in the ass. I know several of my fellow agents had smoked weed before joining the BP, but I don't know if they answered truthfully during their background investigations.
Personally I think weed should be legalized, but I imagine it might depend on the person doing your background investigation.
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Is reality TV here to stay?
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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.
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You can. I don't recommend it, for obvious reasons. This has been discussed previously.
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US citizens will be prosecuted for human trafficking/smuggling charges.
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