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.
Sure, it would. The military can prepare you for a lot of stuff which translate over to the BP (as the BP is a very para-military organization). I had several Marines in my academy class. they were pretty squared away, but...oddly, they couldn't swim that well!? I'd probably suggest the Marines before the BP if you're young and looking to start a new life.
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We do use dogs frequently, at least one or two per shift. They're very useful, but dogs are high maintenance because they can get injured paws etc. very easily out in the desert. I agree we should have had more of them. They're very effective. K9 handlers also have to have special vehicles, and get special compensation (extra pay) to cover the time they spend looking after the dog. They also do quite a bit of training, and we often used them at check points.
I think it's a matter of time/training/money that prevents us from having more.
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Joining any specialty unit in the Border Patrol requires that you must have at least a year or two of field time. I worked with the Horse Patrol guys a lot, but I'm not sure if they were all previous horse riders. I'd think so, as it's not an easily learned skill. Also, be advised that the Horse Patrol is constantly on the verge of being cut out of the Border Patrol - as it is costly and time consuming to keep and maintain horses.
The Horse Patrol spends a lot of extra hours trailering and keeping up their horses. Sorry I can't be of more help on this question. I am comfortable suggesting that you should know how to ride a horse prior. Many stations do not have Horse Patrols - as they have been replaced by dirt bikes in many locations. However, stations like mine kept Horse Patrol for use near the mountains and certain areas where they were more useful than dirt bikes.
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Nope. In fact if he gets caught and deported again the ban will increase to 20 years. This is the penalty for breaking the law.
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Social Security Employee
Did the US economic collapse cause a surge in disability applicants?
SWAT Team Commander (Retired)
How do you decide whether to try and kill a hostage taker?
Navy Officer (Former)
Why do so many people miss the military after they get out?
I couldn't give you an answer on that. I only knew one Native American agent at my station of 450-500 agents. But I can not speak for other stations/sectors. I would imagine the percentage is incredibly small.
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Yes. A foreign citizen who has remained in the U.S. on an expired visa is out of status and breaking the law. He is committing a crime by falsely remaining in the country outside of the conditions of his visa.
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Constantly. Needless to say in the desert it's not uncommon to find yourself dodging snakes, spiders and scorpions. On the TO Reservation where I worked they had free-roaming cattle and horses. Occasionally you'd get an angry bull which would try to charge Agents who were on foot. This was even mor exciting when you were on foot in the dark and could hear that sucker running. The TO Res. was also home to thousands of wild dogs (half dog/half coyote). We had several agents who were forced to shoot dogs which attacked them.
The main concern was hitting horses or cows on the highways. The TO Indians put up no fences or cattle protection. The cows would be in the middle of the highway. We could wreck 1-2 vehicles a month in this fashion. The TO's didn't mind because the government would pay out far more money for the lost cattle than the ranchers could earn by selling it. So, an agent hitting a cow on the road in the middle of the night meant a payout for the rancher - even though they took absolutely no measures to prevent this.
I did know one agent who rolled his truck, avoiding a horse, and was paralyzed from the neck down. That was a tragic waste.
Another spooky incident involved one of our helicopters spotting a mountain lion which was stalking an agent up in the mountains. The agent was lucky that the helicopter spotted it with their night vision. They originally called the agent and told him that his K9 unit was coming up behind him. Needless to say the agent wasn't a K9 handler, so...
So while I wouldn't say they were a constant "problem" it was simply part of the environment you operated in. One agent did find a gila monster in his truck one day. Those suckers can be vicious!
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