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.
BP Agents have authority to apprehend illegal immigrants anywhere in the country. However, special statutes and laws which allow us to set up traffic check-points, inspect items/people coming into the country, and stop vehicles for immigration purposes diminishes as you move further into the country.
If, for instance I was in Ohio and someone admitted to being an illegal immigrant, I could apprehend them. This of course assumes I'm on duty and in uniform etc. In this instance I would end up taking them to the nearest I.C.E. processing center.
Illegal is illegal.
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Honestly I don't even remember. If I recall they were quite simple, logic based questions - to verify that you're not a complete dolt. The part I was more concentrated on was the language aptitude part. That was, interesting.
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MJ,
Not sure where Tubac is. Nogales is of course reasonable, and very busy. It would be "Border Patrol" though, as we're not pirates! And yes, you would visit other stations or sector headquarters to attend training or special classes. During days in which you are on the schedule for training you would be fine wearing your uniform out to lunch/dinner in the process. You're still on duty and should something silly happen you would respond and work as normal.
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Contact their consulate to directly contact the US and look into her status. If it was June, she's either in jail, or has already been flown back to Honduras. It is also likely she lied and said she was a Mexican in order to avoid being flown back.
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CBP Officer
Why are so many customs officers huge jerks?
Audiologist
Can just one loud concert do serious damage to your ears?
Chef
Has anyone ever found anything gross in their food on your watch?
There is not a dictionary that I am aware of. A candidate must be fluent in English in order to be a BPA. Most of the trainees in my class who failed out of the academy had poor English skills and were unable to pass the classes and law tests. The law classes require excellent English as there is a lot of legal language which is extremely important to comprehend.
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We have a lot of the border under surveillance, but it's never enough. Also the desert is an extremely diverse environment. Dense brush, cliffs, outcroppings, washes (dry creekbeds), etc. make it very difficult to observe all of it.
Places with open expanses do rely on large networks of cameras. All along the border we also have sensors or various types (magnetic, seismic etc.) to detect groups and vehicles. However these don't always work, and are often set off by cattle or locals, or even BP Agents etc.
I worked for a bit over a year and a half in radar trucks which are fantastic. However these are expensive, and we never had enough of them. They were placed in high traffic areas. They were extremely effective - moreso than any other tactic we used.
Also, it's very common for BP Agents to detect, sight, or even chase a group and not catch it. So our detection numbers may be high, but actual apprehension numbers much lower. It would not be uncommon to have more groups on my radar screen than I had assets to pursue. You'd simply prioritize and catch as many as you could.
So, the theory is sound - but in practice is extremely difficult to monitor the entire border as it stands now. Also, groups/cartel guys learn where the cameras are, and simply avoid them. You do see more tunnels in areas which feature heavy camera presence.
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It's about 95% politics. No party nor politician wants to be responsible for losing the Latin-American vote or ruffling the feathers of Mexico's government. It would actually save us a lot of money in the long-run, given how much we spend on border security.
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