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.
I have no experience on the Northern border so I can't really answer this question. I also don't understand what you mean by "for CBP to hassle...". If by hassle you mean they inspect you etc. when you come across - that's simply normal. I can't speak for what your definition of hassle is. As a LEO, I have seen plenty of people who get outrageously upset when we're simply doing our job.
Speaking from a Southern border perspective, sure everyone who enters the U.S. legally through a POE is recorded in some fashion.
For the record USCIS no longer exists. The new layout is now DHS (Department of Homeland Security), subset CBP (Customs and Border Protection), and then USBP (United States Border Patrol). DHS also controls I.C.E., etc. The old USCIS under the Department of Justice is no more.
I am sorry I can't give you a better answer - I don't know what "hassles" you're going through or why. From a general perspective 9/11 and the huge illegal immigrant problem will undoubtedly put more restrictions, hassles, and policies through which will make it much more aggravating/difficult for people who are doing it right and legally. This is similar to many other things in law enforcement. The bad apples (criminals) ruin it for normal people on a daily basis.
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While I never looked too hard into it, we had a couple of options. Each station would have a handful of specialized units: Horse Patrol, Bikes, ATV's, Radar Operators, EMT's, first responders, etc.
Then each sector (which consisted of 4-6 stations, sometimes more) would have an SRT team, and a BORSTAR team. These teams would draw agents from the stations, and you'd work out of the sector headquarters. These teams deployed throughout the sector and also worked a lot of local stuff with other law enforcement agencies and local police departments.
You had some national level units such as BORTAC which would deploy on special assignments around the country. You also had "National SRT" and "National BOSTAR" etc. which were also nationally deployed. If I understand correctly, units such as BORTAC used to be employed outside of the U.S. (countering drug cartels in Central/South America) but are no longer used abroad.
These teams are obviously on call for any overly serious incidents. During things like Katrina the entire BP BORSTAR/BORTAC/SRT community is put on standby and many of them were utilized for SAR duties etc. When President Bush spoke at our Academy, the national SRT and BORTAC units were there to work with the Secret Service etc.
So it varies, but typical the real special type units begin at the sector level. I never worked in any of these units, though I frequently worked alongside them. Take the information here with a grain of salt as it may have changed or may be much more detailed than I have put forth here.
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The cartels are so busy - they have much bigger fish to fry. That being said, any LEO should always be on their guard. You're definitely not the most popular person. As far as Mexico for vacation - I'm not that gullible. Any country that suffers 60,000 people killed over a five year span along the border doesn't get any tourist money from me. It's on the State Department's "not recommended" list, but it won't stop Americans from trying to save a buck on liquor etc.
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I was and still am rather scrawny, so the academy was tough - but if I made it through, anyone should be able to. Regarding Spanish, they have eased the requirements significantly - but this is a bad move in my opinion. They teach very compartmented spanish in small blocks...so you learn commands vs. actually learning the language. You could always grab Rosetta Stone and start learning Spanish. It wouldn't hurt. The other alternative is to get a feisty Spanish-speaking girlfriend/boyfriend and learn the hard way.
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Toll Collector
What's the rudest thing a driver ever said to you?
Police Officer
Have you ever been shot or seriously injured on the job?
Call Center Employee (Retail)
Do you think it's just a matter of time before all U.S. companies move their customer support overseas?
I'm not entirely sure what happened to you. However, if you've been caught (by any law enforcement agency) with illegal substances it's often recorded by dispatch officers/personnel. If your license plate is run by other law enforcement officers/agents this information will pop up. This assists officers and agents in knowing what they're dealing with when they do a traffic stop. Prior arrests, detentions, and warnings etc. are noted in the large database.
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It's simple night vision and FLIR as carried by the military and other law enforcement agencies. Also the "midnight sun" or ridiculous huge powerful flood lights.
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Nope. Horrible. We had more issues, pursuits, assaults etc. from the Tohono O'odham people than we did from Mexican illegals. I'd say 75% of my encounters with TO's were negative. The vast majority of U.S. citizen smugglers we arrested were TO's. There is simply massive amounts of criminal activity on the reservation. Even some of the police and rangers were up to no good.
A drunk TO ran one of my ex-trainees off the road and killed him. We had numerous incidents where TO's would apprehend Mexican females and sexually assault/abuse them for weeks before someone found out.
There were a small number of TO's who would assist the BP, and this was normally out of spite for other TO's (one household or family would rat out another household/family). As a whole though, an extremely negative relationship.
Many of the TO's resented us because other than their own police/rangers and Sheriffs (who almost never went onto the reservation) we were the only law enforcement agency which was allowed to enter and operate on their land. They despised us for this. We ended up enforcing or assisting in a lot of non-immigration law enforcement duties because the TO's were always drunk and getting into trouble.
The BP rolled over and played nice (this is the kinder/gentler America after all) and refused to stand firm whenever an argument came up. It was quite disappointing. Everything was handled with kid-gloves, which was sickening to watch in many instances.
So, short answer: No. Not a good relationship.
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