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Border Patrol to hire 6,000 by end of 2008

Moving to the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector was a culture shock for Border Patrol Agent Frederick Mangona and his family.

“Being so close to Mexico, the culture is very much influenced by the Mexican culture,” Mangona said.

But the Army veteran, husband and father prefers the slow pace of his south Texas lifestyle in coastal Corpus Christi over the fast pace he perceives in bigger cities.

The Border Patrol is looking for more veterans like Mangona. The organization’s goal is to grow by 6,000 agents, for a total force of about 18,000, by the end of 2008.

About 6,000 National Guard troops are supplementing the Border Patrol’s efforts along the southwest border.

The Border Patrol’s recruiting push comes during a high-profile time in border security, with lawmakers considering guest worker programs and a post-Sept. 11 emphasis on preventing suspected terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the U.S.

It’s a historic opportunity for service members leaving the military to enter jobs as federal law enforcement officers.

Mangona is one of many veterans who have found careers with the Border Patrol. He’s a native of the Philippines and joined the U.S. Army in 1992 as a permanent resident alien.

He left the Army as a specialist serving with mechanized infantry units and later earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice along with his U.S. citizenship, a requirement to join the Border Patrol.

“I encountered a Border Patrol agent in 2001, and I was just impressed by the professionalism — and the ability to speak Spanish,” said Mangona, who learned Spanish along with other non-Spanish-speakers at the Border Patrol Academy.

Every new Border Patrol agent starts out along the southwest border — those areas of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California closest to Mexico.

That’s why intense Spanish-language training is a big part of agents’ experience at the 17-week Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, N.M. Agents must learn Spanish, but recruiters emphasize that Spanish proficiency is not a prerequisite to joining the force.

Border Patrol’s mission

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks resulted in changes for the Border Patrol. The security force became a part of the Homeland Security Department’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

Reorganization came with a new “priority mission” — to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the U.S.

The new mission puts added pressure on Border Patrol agents already seeking to prevent illegal aliens and illegal contraband — particularly drugs — from crossing U.S. borders.

“We have to be not only more vigilant, we have to look for more things,” Border Patrol spokesman Todd Fraser said. “We have to be concerned with trucks carrying a lot of fertilizer or individuals carrying lab equipment. Before, we wouldn’t have second-guessed it. Now, we have to second-guess it.”

Preventing people and drugs from entering the country illegally are still the biggest parts of a Border Patrol agent’s job.

The Border Patrol stopped more than one million people from entering the U.S. illegally in fiscal 2006 and seized more than 1.3 million pounds of marijuana and nearly 13,000 pounds of cocaine. The busiest area now is Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector in Arizona.

“Our entire mission has changed, but our goal is the same: border security,” Fraser said.

Becoming an agent

If you’re not already a member of a federal law enforcement agency such as the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Administration, then you must pass the Border Patrol exam and receive a tentative job offer letter prior to your 40th birthday. Military police don’t qualify for the age waiver.

For every 30 people who apply to take the Border Patrol’s written exam, only one enters the Border Patrol Academy. Only about 40 percent of the applicants pass the exam.

“It’s a very difficult test,” said Todd Bryant, acting assistant chief of Border Patrol’s training and recruitment branch. Those who sign up for the test receive study guides, which they’re strongly encouraged to use. “If you come in cold, though, your chances aren’t good,” Bryant said.

The three-part exam tests applicants’ logical reasoning skills and ability to learn a foreign language. Candidates are administered an “artificial language test,” but a Spanish-language proficiency test is substituted for those who believe they’re already proficient in Spanish. The exam also includes an assessment of what you’ve learned from past work experiences. The test takes about 4½ hours, Bryant said.

Depending on the exam location or recruiting event an applicant attends, a medical exam and physical fitness test may be administered on the same day. To pass the physical fitness test, candidates must do 20 push-ups in 60 seconds, 25 sit-ups in 60 seconds and a 30-step-per-minute step test for five minutes. The medical exam and physical fitness test may also be scheduled for a later date, along with an oral interview before three experienced Border Patrol agents.

“We’ll ask questions about how you’d respond and react to certain scenarios based on real occurrences in Border Patrol. What would a reasonable person do in that scenario?” Bryant said.

Once an applicant passes the written exam, medical exam, physical fitness test and oral interview, there’s a drug test and background check. Investigators will interview friends, neighbors and employers — “to make sure you are who you say you are.”

The entire process can take several months. You can request duty in one of Border Patrol’s sectors along the southwest border, but you may not be assigned there. You’ll find out whether your desired sector is available before you accept a job.

If you accept, you’re responsible for reporting to your initial duty station for a couple of days of paperwork. Next, you head to Border Patrol Academy in New Mexico; from that point through the duration of your academy training, Border Patrol pays for your room and board.

Intense training

Mangona compares Border Patrol Academy with his Army training.

“Physically I would say it’s about equal to the Army basic training,” he said, “but it’s a lot more academically challenging, not to mention that we all have to be proficient in Spanish when we graduate.”

The Spanish-language portion is considered the equivalent of two years of college-level Spanish.

“It’s everything you would need to know to conduct an interview,” Bryant said.

Recruits learn constitutional law, immigration law, close-quarters combat and driving techniques, among other subjects, at the academy.

One or two groups of 50 recruits enter the Border Patrol Academy each week. They attend classes eight hours a day on weekdays, and most spend weekends studying and otherwise preparing for the coming week.

After graduation comes five to seven months of field training in new agents’ home sectors — “to get you to a competent level,” Bryant said.

More tests follow at seven and 10 months after graduation to ensure recruits have retained what they learned at the academy.

Agents are eligible to join the agents’ union, the National Border Patrol Council, after two years of service, but they are not required to do so. As is customary within law enforcement unions, supervisors are not allowed membership.

Military experience

Senior Patrol Agent Adrian H. Arcides left the Marine Corps as a staff sergeant in 2000 after 13½ years of service. The former aircraft maintainer was drawn to the Border Patrol because of the likelihood he could work in his home state of Texas as well as the opportunity to apply his military time to his federal retirement.

He’s assigned to the same Rio Grande Valley Sector as Mangona.

“I started off as a line agent, looking for terrorists, any type of illegal immigration, any type of smuggling — whether it be narcotics or people,” said Arcides, who now works as a recruiter.

Arcides considers the Border Patrol a good opportunity for troops set to leave the service.

“It’s an easier transition for them going from one uniform to the next. Adventure is there as well,” Arcides said.

Arcides was able to “buy back” his time in the Marine Corps and apply those years to his Border Patrol retirement. He had the option of making a lump-sum payment of about $5,400 for his 13½ years in the Corps. That amount could also be deducted in $25 increments from his Border Patrol pay.

When Arcides retires from Border Patrol after 20 years, his retirement checks will reflect 33½ years of service.

The bad with the good

Former Border Patrol agent and Marine Corps veteran Ray Harris couldn’t do much more to promote the Border Patrol, even in retirement. A 13-year Marine Corps veteran who served as an avionics technician and later as an auditor, Harris took the Border Patrol exam as a gunnery sergeant, wearing his Marine Corps uniform, in 1980.

Harris now runs http://www.honorfirst.com, an unofficial Border Patrol Web site which he started in the 1990s, before the agency had a Web site of its own.

“I think it’s one of the best jobs in the world,” Harris said to any service member considering applying to the Border Patrol. “Most military veterans find it to be a really good fit.”

But changes within the force are spurring T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, to caution those considering a career in the Border Patrol.

“I bleed green, the color of the uniform,” said Bonner, who represents about 7,000 members as union president. “The job was just an incredible occupational choice for me at the time I accepted it.”

But politics have crept into agents’ day-to-day jobs in a number of ways, “some subtle and some not so subtle,” Bonner said.

Calls for immigration reform among U.S. lawmakers and activist groups historically have caused more illegal activity along the borders, especially when those tempted to cross illegally glimpse “the carrot of legal status,” Bonner said.

He also cites instances of Border Patrol agents being prosecuted for doing what Bonner considers their jobs.

“The government of Mexico demands prosecution of our agents, and sadly our government goes along with those demands more often than not,” Bonner said.

Bonner alluded to the prosecution and subsequent convictions of two former Border Patrol agents following a February 2005 incident in which they fired on a Mexican citizen and later failed to report the shooting.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas, has issued a number of statements in an attempt to clarify what it deems “factual inaccuracies and unfounded criticism” regarding the case.

National Border Patrol Council leaders in April publicized a no-confidence vote against Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar, listing 10 points including “promoting amnesty and a guest worker program” and operational issues such as the agency’s vehicle pursuit policy.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham responded to the no-confidence vote in a written statement: “During a period of tremendous change and unprecedented financial and political support for the Border Patrol, Chief Aguilar has been a tireless advocate for agents on the frontline.”

Those considering the Border Patrol as their next career should do so “with their eyes wide open,” Bonner said. “We need patriots to step forward who are willing to bend and in some cases break the rules to get the job done. It’s going to expose you to discipline and sometimes prosecution. ... That doesn’t mean it can’t change.”

Border Patrol spokesman Fraser took exception to Bonner’s statement.

“Our motto is ‘Honor first.’ The Border Patrol does not have any place in its ranks for individuals who are intentionally, purposely breaking the rules.”

Border Patrol pay

Border Patrol agents may enter at one of three pay levels, depending on their academic and law-enforcement backgrounds.

GL-5: $35,595

Requires one of the following:

• Substantial work experience in fields such as interviewing, claims adjusting, journalism or security.

• A bachelor’s degree.

• A combination of education and experience.

GL-7: $40,519

Meets GL-5 requirements, as well as demonstrated the ability to:

• Make arrests and exercise sound judgment using firearms.

• Deal “courteously, tactfully and effectively” in law-enforcement matters.

•Quickly analyze information and act appropriately according to laws, court decisions and law-enforcement procedures.

• Develop and maintain contact with a network of informants.

GL-9: $45,189

Meets GL-7 requirements, as well as demonstrated the ability to:

• Develop cases, conduct interviews or interrogations, make apprehensions and arrests.

• Prepare cases and appear as a professional witness in court.

• Exercise sound judgment using firearms and conduct training or qualification exercises in the proper care and use of firearms.

• Deal effectively with individuals in their detention, control or interrogation, and promote community outreach and public relations.

• Analyze and disseminate intelligence information and data, and apply law enforcement concepts and techniques.

• Develop and maintain a network of informants, social and political organizations, local law enforcement agencies, and citizens.

• Use law-enforcement databases.

• Prepare legal reports and documents concerning illegal activities.

For a full list of qualifications, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Web site. Click on “CBP Border Patrol — Now Hiring,” then on “CBP Border Patrol Entry Level Positions,” and then on “Border Patrol Agent Fact Sheet.”

Voices of experience

Agents shared their favorite reasons to work for the U.S. Border Patrol as well as the toughest parts of their job.

Best part of the job:

“I would say because we’re not a 9-to-5 job. It’s an opportunity to ... serve your country and try something new.” (Todd Bryant, acting chief, Border Patrol’s training and recruitment branch)

“I’m not stuck behind a desk all the time. I can get out and go do different jobs.” (Adrian H. Arcides, senior patrol agent and Marine Corps veteran)

“Being able to work outside … with minimum supervision, dictating the pace of work I want to do during the day ... serving the country while having fun.” (Frederick Mangona, Border Patrol agent and Army veteran)

The reason to join:

“Because border security is essential to the continuation of the sovereignty of our country.” (T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council)

Toughest part of the job:

“Being under the [public’s] microscope, especially now, when immigration is such a big issue.” (Mangona)

“When you come across a big group of people who are crossing illegally. You scare them because you come out of the brush in the middle of the night. They spread out from the group and end up separating. A young daughter or a young son is just left behind. The child is scared.” (Arcides)

Most common misconception:

“That we sit in booths at the international crossings and ask people if they have anything to declare.” (Todd Fraser, Border Patrol spokesman)