Border Patrol Agent

Border Patrol Agent

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.

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Last Answer on November 08, 2016

Best Rated

there was this girl form Honduras that crossed the border and border patrol caught but her family haven't heard from her since June what can they do?

Asked by MLG over 12 years ago

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.

What happens to the people when they cross the border illegally?

Asked by Ryleigh about 13 years ago

This has been answered in the questions above.

Is the opposition to building a giant wall the length of the border mostly economical ("we can't afford it"), pragmatic ("it wouldn't work") or political ("a wall is an antagonistic symbol of exclusion")?

Asked by Bucknell about 13 years ago

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.

Even if a Wall is infeasible, wouldn't cameras and motion sensors the entire length of the Mexican border be much easier and at least raise the rate of interceptions?

Asked by Bucknell about 13 years ago

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.

Who represents illegal immigrants in court when they are caught?

Asked by Gerardo over 12 years ago

Illegal immigrants seldom end up in court.  If they do, it is by their choice, selecting a "notice to appear" action where they will go and plead their case with an immigration judge.  This seldom results in a different result.  If a person has the means they may attempt to hire an immigration lawyer to aid them in their plea.  This is not like normal criminal court, as the simple physical presence of a person in the US illegally is obvious proof of guilt.  If an illegal immigrant goes to court for criminal charges they will get a normal defense lawyer as any other criminal.

Is it easy to start with Border Patrol and go over to ICE or FBI? Or are there better approaches to becoming a federal criminal investigator?

Asked by josh almost 13 years ago

It would make a transition to ICE much easier, but the FBI is never easy to get into.  They recruit very specific people from very specific fields.  It can't hurt your chances, but I would not join the BP planning on simply switching over to the FBI.  The FBI posts what they're looking for on their website.  You'd be better off getting a degree that they're interested in. 

Hello, I' m scheduled to take the written exam next month. How many question do they ask you for the logical reasoning, and if they are similar in difficulty as shown in the preparation manual U.S. Border Patrol.

Asked by Joe almost 13 years ago

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.