Thread: Hispanics hold 52 percent of Border Patrol agent jobs

Hispanics bolster Border Patrol
They now hold 52 percent of agents' jobs
By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Dec. 29, 2008, 3:52AM


For the Chronicle
Border Patrol agent Edward Caballero, 32, says his Spanish fluency and upbringing in the Rio Grande Valley give him an edge in his job.

Growing up along the Texas border, Edward Caballero remembers fearing the green-uniformed agents of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Now, the 32-year old Caballero — a former schoolteacher in the Rio Grande Valley — is one of thousands of new agents who have swelled the force's ranks to more than 18,000, a product of an historic recruitment blitz.

And unlike the Border Patrol of his youth, which was overwhelmingly Anglo, the expanded border agency is now 54 percent minority. Hispanics like Caballero comprise 52 percent of the agents.

''It seems like most Border Patrol officers were Anglos, and I hate to say it, not too friendly towards Hispanics," Caballero recalled. ''It's not so much that way anymore."

Since the Bush administration mandated hiring 6,000 new agents to boost the force to 18,000 by the end of this year, the ranks of Hispanic agents have mushroomed. The roughly 6,400 Hispanic agents on duty in 2006 increased 45 percent to about 9,300 last month.

Caballero said his fluency in Spanish and his upbringing in the Rio Grande Valley, which is predominantly Hispanic, is an advantage when he encounters illegal immigrants trying to cross the winding Rio Grande and fade into riverside communities.

''Overall, I can make more of a connection culturally because of the language and how to interact with Hispanic people," said Caballero, who is stationed in Edinburg. ''Earlier with the Anglos (agents), it didn't seem so friendly. It was almost like you feared them — even if you were not an illegal, you had to look out."


Recruits' advantage
Because southwest border communities are largely Latino, recruits there have an advantage in the required Spanish fluency as well as familiarity with the job. Applicants who can pass a Spanish proficiency test can skip 40 days of required language instruction at the academy.

''It is an easier task to convince someone who lives in Texas to apply for a position in Texas," said Joe Abbott, director of recruitment for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. ''We have a large Hispanic population on the southwest border, and they are familiar with the Border Patrol, so the opportunity is more appealing if they're closer to home."

The government employed a diverse array of recruiting tools to meet the 18,000-agent goal. The Border Patrol sponsored NASCAR stock cars and bull-riding events, held job fairs in communities with high unemployment and visited black college campuses.

Though the Border Patrol force has become more ethnically diverse, it's still 95 percent male. However, the recruiting drive boosted the number of female agents to nearly 1,000.

''To me it's an indication we're making headway in trying to parallel the civilian labor force, by increasing the diversity," Abbott said.


What critics say
But there are some concerns about thousands of new agents enforcing laws in the same communities where they have strong family ties, some that extend across the border.

''The problem I think that will come up are with people who are born and raised there, and have associates on both sides of the border. I don't think that's especially good from an integrity standpoint," said James Dorcy, a director of the National Association of Retired Border Patrol Officers.

''The drug cartels are trying to do everything they can to infiltrate the Border Patrol right now," Dorcy said.

His organization and the National Border Patrol Council worry that the rapid buildup of the Border Patrol, along with an outsourcing of background investigations of applicants to private contractors, has allowed unsuitable candidates to become federal agents.


Corrupt agents
Their concerns have some validity, as a number of agents have been caught taking bribes to allow illegal immigrants, as well as drugs, to cross the border.

Last week a federal judge in McAllen sentenced ex-Border Patrol officer Reynaldo Zuniga, 34, to seven years in prison for drug smuggling. The officer, from the Valley city of Harlingen, was paid to pick up a cocaine smuggler on the Rio Grande and drop him off at a hamburger stand nearby.

Earlier this month, federal prosecutors returned a bribery and narcotics trafficking indictment against Leonel Morales, a 30-year-old Border Patrol agent from Zapata. He is charged with taking a $9,000 bribe to escort a load of narcotics this summer.

Despite the arrests of border officers, Caballero believes his knowledge of the local culture will help figure out if a co-worker has gone bad.

''Honestly, I feel like who else would know better if something is not right, someone who has been in this area their whole life," Caballero said. "That outweighs any possible negative effect that could come out of it."

james.pinkerton@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6184818.html

''It seems like most Border Patrol officers were Anglos, and I hate to say it, not too friendly towards Hispanics," Caballero recalled. ''It's not so much that way anymore."

I'll take honesty and integrity over friendly every time. We need folks who will ignore the color of a persons skin and do the job their tasked with, regardless of a skin color connection.

What critics say
But there are some concerns about thousands of new agents enforcing laws in the same communities where they have strong family ties, some that extend across the border.

''The problem I think that will come up are with people who are born and raised there, and have associates on both sides of the border. I don't think that's especially good from an integrity standpoint," said James Dorcy, a director of the National Association of Retired Border Patrol Officers.

Guess I can be counted as one of the critics.

Me too!! and are these BP American or Mexican citizens?

Doesn't matter who becomes a BP agent, as long as they do their job and stay safe.

Originally Posted by jean

Doesn't matter who becomes a BP agent, as long as they do their job and stay safe.

I agree. I share concern about some and where their loyalty really stands. If there is any question with any individual agent regardless of ethnicity they should be dismissed. But as long as they are doing the job and doing it right I have no problem with this.

Ramos and Campeon are both hispanic surnames. Don't get too excited over this.

Originally Posted by jean

Doesn't matter who becomes a BP agent, as long as they do their job and stay safe.

Absolutely!

Most federal agencies rotate their enforcement people to prevent conflicts of interest. It's normal for agents and staffers to marry within the communities served. The Mexican border is unique because the lawlessness is so huge, the number of Spanish-speaking agents on the Canadian border is grievously inadequate to cover even a fraction of the 1,700-mile Mexican border. The consequence is the feds merely are able to move western Latinos to the east end and vice versa. I hope they're doing that much.

Personally, I think it makes sense to have hispanic BP agents. They are safer knowing how to speak Spanish. They can understand what the insurgents are saying, just in case they are planning an escape etc. However, if we had more Anglos that spoke or understood Spanish, we would get more information. I used to manage a drug store in a hispanic neighborhood. I understand and speak some spanish. However, if you work in a hispanic neighborhood, you are better off not letting your co-workers know. 2 pharmacy techs whom I suspected of drug theft didn't know I understood what they were saying, and after 2 years of listeneing them talk in Spanish they were talking about the Vicoden that they stole in FRONT of the non-spanish speaking pharmacist. The company even investigated the pharmacist because these narcotics were coming up missing. The 2 techs were fired with no jail time. Non spanish speakers would be SHOCKED as to what their spanish speaking co-workers were saying.

jshhmr wrote:

Personally, I think it makes sense to have hispanic BP agents. They are safer knowing how to speak Spanish. They can understand what the insurgents are saying, just in case they are planning an escape etc. However, if we had more Anglos that spoke or understood Spanish, we would get more information.

No one has said it doesn't make sense to have Hispanic border patrol agents. However, could it be counter-productive to have a large number of agents working the border that have friends and family living in Mexico?

For the record, all border patrol agents are required to learn Spanish before beginning field work.