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.
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".
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No.
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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.
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This has been answered in the questions above.
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Football Official
Do you think it's ok for NFL refs to play fantasy football?
Bracketologist
Why have there been so many 15-2 upsets, but no 16-1's?
CBP Officer
Why are so many customs officers huge jerks?
Illegal immigrants seldom end up in court. If they do, it is by their choice, selecting a "notice to appear" action where they will go and plead their case with an immigration judge. This seldom results in a different result. If a person has the means they may attempt to hire an immigration lawyer to aid them in their plea. This is not like normal criminal court, as the simple physical presence of a person in the US illegally is obvious proof of guilt. If an illegal immigrant goes to court for criminal charges they will get a normal defense lawyer as any other criminal.
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Our dope (marijuana and otherwise) was picked up and disposed of by the DEA.
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BORTAC is difficult and something you won't hop into without a few years in the field. BORTAC/SRT are small units, in a large agency so the competition is pretty fierce, but not impossible.
You'll be fine.
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