CBP Officer

CBP Officer

CBPGuy

7 Years Experience

SouthWest, US

Male, 25

I am a U. S. Customs and Border Protection Officer on the southwest border between Mexico and the United States. I know the ins and outs of the job as seen on TV/News and things intentionally hidden from the media! There's more to this job than "Anything to declare?" I dont know all but I'll do my best to answer any questions you have! All answers are my opinion, and my opinion only!

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219 Questions

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Last Answer on April 22, 2019

Best Rated

Is it illegal to record my interaction with a customs officer? Like can I have a dash-cam or audio recorder running as I go through the checkpoint?

Asked by David about 9 years ago

It actually is and its listed somewhere under a law. I cant seem to find it at the moment. However, you are NOT allowed to video record a CBP Officer's inspection, and absolutely no recording or use of cell phones in secondary inspection. You can however record the drive up to the border and thats about it.

120K salary by my 4th year? I'm in. What kind of education or experience do you need to apply, and is it selective?

Asked by johnny about 9 years ago

You need a minimum of a high school diploma or GED. You need to have no or very limited criminal history. You need to pass a written test. You need to pass a fitness test. Video based test. You need to pass a structured oral board interview. You need to pass a polygraph examination. You need to pass the academy. Then the job is yours! It took my about 2 years to get to the academy. The job is always posted on usajobs.gov

How do racial tensions affect your job? Does your race play a factor in getting or not getting compliance from people?

Asked by Bill W. about 9 years ago

I am white, and I have been called racist towards Mexicans on very FEW occasions. You dont really see the race card played much. However, gender is a different story. Men don't really like taking orders from women, especially in the Mexican culture. I'm not being derogatory towards the culture, its just simple fact. Female officers have a much harder time gaining compliance from male subjects. However, I wouldn't mess with any of the female officers i've met. They are all pretty cut throat. They may come off rude, but now you see why.

Which contributes more to the number of illegals living in the Southern US: (1) people who enter at a valid port-of-entry and just stay, or (2) those who sneak over the border without going through a POE?

Asked by QueenEsther3 about 9 years ago

Sorry but I would rather not answer this question and give any readers ideas on the best ways of entering the United States illegally. However, with that being said, Google is a better source for fairly accurate statistics.

Have you been catching less weed at the border now that it's getting decriminalized in some States? That was one of the big arguments for legalizing it: that it would stem the illegal flow in from Mexico. But has that actually happened?

Asked by 98harmoni about 9 years ago

There has been a significant decline in the smuggling of marijuana but we still see it. We used to catch hundreds of pounds on a daily basis but that has gone down to hundreds on a weekly basis. We are starting to see a rise in meth, probably because the decline of demand for marijuana.

How helpful / cooperative are Mexican authorities when it comes to US immigration and border control?

Asked by Brandon about 9 years ago

Believe it or not, they are actually very helpful and we frequently communicate with them. We even have the Mexican consulate right in our port to help us with undocumented minors. When we expeditiously remove (informal deportation) Mexican nationals, we bring them to a section of the border fence where Mexican authorities are waiting to retrieve them. It goes both ways actually, because Mexican authorities regularly deport US Citizens, then we retrieve them.

They try to give us a heads up when protesters are coming up towards the border from Mexico. We give them a heads up when theres a high speed pursuit and a suspect is fleeing into Mexico. The Mexican authorities then take over in Mexico and deport the suspect back to us. Mexican federales also try to help us out to break up smuggling organizations as well.

I know you have to declare more than $10K when crossing the border, but are agents allowed to seize it anyway if they're suspicious? And do travelers have to prove to YOU that it's not dirty money? (Having to prove a negative is kinda crazy.)

Asked by 10K about 9 years ago

We cannot seize money under suspicion alone, unless you blatantly tell us the money your bringing is illegally earned. The only time your money gets seized (after you declared it) is if you have been under investigation for a while and Agents have gathered enough intelligence and evidence to provide to the courts to make an arrest. This is a long processes and the majority of criminals who declare money dont even know we have intel on them.

So no, you dont have to prove the money is not dirty. If your money is getting seized even after you declared it, at that point its too late.