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.
Not sure, I have no experience in status applications. That would be a question better addressed to the officers you're dealing with during the application process.
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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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The last couple of weeks before you graduate start looking...that's the beauty of the internet. Start researching and contact apartment complexes near your station etc. Heck you could even check into one of those hotels that lets you pay by the week for the first couple of weeks. Me and my classmates found a house to rent via Craigslist. We stayed there for 6 months then all moved to our own apartments/houses.
It's up to you to arrange the move of your family. It's not easy, but you'll figure it out. Just don't sign any papers or leases until you graduate. You should be able to tell the home owner or apartment complex your situation.
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You can try, but don't bother. This will come up in your application process, and you'll be disqualified.
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EMT
What was the most gruesome trauma you witnessed while on the job?
CrossFit Coach
Are Crossfit gyms profitable right out of the gate?
CBP Officer
What are the telltale signs you look to indicate someone's lying?
While it's tough to really narrow down the variety of amusing/weird stuff that happened...it was pretty commonplace to find yourself thinking "What in the world?".
We caught a 17 year old kid after a 110 mile long pursuit...only to find out he was high on meth, wearing rainbow coloured socks (the type with the individual toes) professing "I don't even love that boy!". I've caught grown men wearing shirts in English that they don't understand (What is a girl like me doing in a place like this?) etc.
Stories with the local Indians are obnoxious and too...vile to post up here on a public website. I've seen a grown man run full speed into a gigantic sajuaro cactus. I've had stray dogs lead me to groups of illegals because the dogs knew they'd get food (free K-9's!). We had a couple of white trash fellows shooting a handgun at an IED. When detonated by the bomb squad, the IED was big enough to blow up a truck, so I feel those guys were lucky.
Every day just had really...odd things that would happen. These become pretty normal though, so they don't seem weird until you sit back and think about them for a while.
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Very often, but this depended very much on the season - needless to say, summer months were the worst. I could not give you a percentage, but my station would find perhaps 50+ bodies a year. Add another 100+ in serious physical distress.
Many of the causes of death could not be determined by a simple glance. In AZ a body will be taken down to bones in less than 72 hours. When encountering a dead body we would refer it to the local Indian Police who would call their detectives etc. We were not trained in that stuff, so we'd simply secure the scene.
With all the crime in the desert it was anybody's guess how these people died. Many of the ones reported to us by other illegals would be located, and had died of dehydration (or some other form of sickness). We also did a lot of life-flights out of the desert when someone was in a bad way.
When a person gets dehydrated that badly, even if you life-flight them out and they make it to a hospital they will likely die. We were responsible for hospital watches, where we'd be stationed in a room with a person in custody. A dehydrated person would make a recovery within a day or two - but often their kidneys and other organs had already gone bad, and they would then pass a day or two later.
Some illegals were shot by bandits or cartel guys, or other illegals. Again, when you come across a pile of pink bones in the desert, it's hard to judge.
For these reasons, we are all very competent at search and rescue. We had a large number of EMT's and other first responders amongst the normal agents. When something very serious popped up we could call on BORSTAR (Border Special Tactics and Rescue) who are a specially trained unit of paramedics and rescue specialists.
With the size of the desert, we'd do everything we could to find people who were left, or in distress - but you can only spend so many man-hours on someone.
Many more illegals died at the hands of their smugglers (commonly called "coyotes"). These were often the result of horrific vehicle accidents. The smugglers would crash a truck carrying 30-40 people standing up in the bed. You can do the math I'm sure. These were the really serious incidents, where you'd have a dozen illegals killed and a dozen or more sent to hospital for serious surgeries, some paralyzed etc.
I, myself, only came across a handful of dead bodies in my time with the Patrol. I did respond to a couple of crime scenes, a homicide etc. I partook in search and rescue efforts a handful of times, and did find a number of stranded people. All in all, a dangerous place. I only ever really felt sorry for the kids. Some groups would leave behind 8-12 year old kids who couldn't keep up with the group. That angered me. No one should put a kid through that, or leave them behind to die.
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