Thread: A Busy School for Border Patrol in New Mexico

Get this! 62% of the new border patrol agents are LATINO!!!!!!
Lets just hope their loyalty is to the US. If not, talk about the fox guarding the hen house!



http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/24/us/24 ... ref=slogin

June 24, 2006
A Busy School for Border Patrol in New Mexico
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

ARTESIA, N.M., June 22 — Cadets must double up in dorms, and prefabricated temporary classrooms have sprouted almost everywhere. Scores of agents have been withdrawn from policing the border to serve as instructors. And next year, twice as many trainees as this year are expected to troop through the cramped quarters.

All in all, the Border Patrol Academy here in the desert of southeastern New Mexico is bursting at the seams and bustling with activity as the agency strives to train enough cadets to fulfill President Bush's plan adding 6,000 agents by the end of 2008 as part of his border security program.

Charles C. Whitmire, the acting chief of the academy, said Thursday at the conclusion of a two-day tour for the news media that the president's goal would be met.

"The answer is absolutely," he said.

The carefully choreographed media tour was intended in part to raise the agency's public profile and calm fears that the academy might not be up to the mammoth training task. It produced made-for-television images of prospective agents going through the paces, including shooting weapons, making vehicle stops, learning Spanish — a requirement for all agents — and studying immigration law.

Several of the cadets, a broad range of former members of the military and law enforcement agencies, recent college and high school graduates, and even a few former missionaries, said the physical training was the most difficult. The recruits hit the deck for endless push-ups, situps and other exercises, along with frequent runs in the heat of the desert, to get them in shape for border assignments in often hostile, dangerous terrain where an agent frequently patrols alone. On average, only 1 in 30 applicants ends up an agent.

"On the first day I was wondering, 'What did I get myself into?' " said Sarah Felix, 21, of Los Angeles, one of 10 recruits whom officials picked to speak with reporters. "The physical training was not what I expected."

But she has persevered, she said, out of a determination to be a federal agent, an idea planted by a recruiter who stopped by at her job as an airport security screener.

"I saw pictures of them running around the desert," Ms. Felix said, "and I thought I'd like to give that a try."

Much of what the prospective agents do is typical of police and federal law enforcement training: firearms practice, and mastery of arrest and pursuit techniques. But there are some distinct differences, among them hours of instruction in Spanish and immigration law, and practice in navigating four-wheel-drive vehicles over rough terrain.

Recruits take 750 hours of training over 19 weeks — the longest of any law enforcement agency, Border Patrol officials said — with Spanish classes accounting for the biggest portion, 221 hours. All agents must speak the language well enough to question suspects and issue commands during arrests.

"It's a challenge for them," said Greg Burwell, a Spanish-language instructor. "Some of them just can't pick it up."

One cadet, Todd Huffaker, 27, of Grand Junction, Colo., said he wanted to marry his knowledge of Spanish gleaned as a Mormon missionary in Mexico with an interest in law enforcement inspired by relatives in the field, including a brother-in-law who is a Border Patrol agent.

"I agree with the mission," Mr. Huffaker said, "first and foremost preventing terror and also antismuggling operations."

The recruitment of agents and their retention have long been challenges for the agency, which began the decade with little more than 4,000 of them and would have 18,000 by the end of 2008 under the president's plan. The agency recently raised the maximum age of cadets to 40 from 37 and has stepped up recruiting with a television commercial draped in patriotic themes and broadcast in large cities in the North and the Midwest, the idea being to widen the pool of applicants beyond the Southwest, a customary stronghold.

The agency has also been having particular trouble recruiting blacks and Asians, with whites accounting for 35 percent of recent hires and Latinos 62 percent. Blacks and Asians each account for less than 1 percent.

The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Patrol's parent, is soon expected to begin an audit of the agency's hiring and training practices, in light of misgivings in Congress and elsewhere over its ability to train enough agents in so short a period.

The agents' union, the National Border Patrol Council, has expressed concern that to meet demands, recruits may be rushed through the academy too quickly. It has suggested that the agency look for other sites to supplement the academy, part of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center here, which also trains federal air marshals, Indian reservation police officers and commercial pilots authorized to carry firearms in cockpits.

"Congress needs to take a look beyond Artesia," said the union's president, T. J. Bonner, a Border Patrol agent in San Diego.

Mr. Whitmire, the academy's acting chief, estimated that perhaps twice as many cadets as the current level of 570 at any given time would come through next year. But he said he would not know with certainty until Mr. Bush and Congress reached agreement on next year's budget.

At least for now, the loss of agents in the field to have them work at the academy has worsened a shortage of senior agents in some areas, Mr. Whitmire said.

"Clearly any person that is here is one less person in the field taking care of business," he said, though he added that the deployment of National Guard troops to the border — the total by August is expected to rise to 6,000 — would help ease the strain.

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Border Patrol Agent

Company: US Customs & Border Protection Location: US-CA-San Diego
Status: Full Time, Employee Job Category: Government and Policy
Relevant Work Experience: 1+ to 2 Years




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Job Description




ALL POSITIONS ARE LOCATED ON THE SOUTHWEST BORDER


Border Patrol Agents ‑ Your Career Protecting America

Border Patrol Agents
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Southwest Border

NOW RECRUITING: Border Patrol is currently seeking men and women to protect America’s southwest borders as Border Patrol Agents. Your job will be to help prevent the entry of terrorists and terrorist weapons into the United States. You will also detect and prevent the smuggling and unlawful entry of undocumented aliens into the United States, and apprehend those who violate our nation’s immigration laws. You will also play a primary role in drug interdiction along the borders.

To apply, you must:
Be a U.S. citizen
Be physically fit
Under age 40


To qualify, you must be able to successfully complete fitness and drug tests, a thorough background investigation and a medical examination. You must also possess a valid state driver’s license. You will be recruited at the GS-5 or GS-7 level. The Border Patrol Agent position has an accelerated promotion plan, which means that upon successful completion of the 6 1/2 month probationary examination, individuals hired at the GS-5 level are eligible for promotion to GS-7, and individuals hired at GS-7 are eligible for promotion to the GS-9. You will have non-competitive promotion potential to GS-11. Your initial duty location could be anywhere along the southwest border.



You must be a U.S. citizen and meet one or more of the following primary residence criteria for the last three years prior to submitting your application for employment:

Reside in the United States or its protectorates or territories (excluding short trips abroad, such as vacations);
Worked for the United States government as an employee overseas in a federal or military capacity; or
Been a dependent of a U.S. federal or military employee serving overseas.


Beyond the satisfaction of protecting America’s border in the Southwest, Border Patrol Agents are rewarded with excellent pay and an outstanding federal benefits package. If you want to work in an exciting environment of high public trust, with wide-open spaces and opportunities to match, consider the role of a Border Patrol Agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.



Are you up to the challenge? Learn more and apply online at our website:

www.cbp.gov (click on Careers, then on Border Patrol Agent)



CBP strives to have a workforce that reflects our nation’s diversity.







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I have met and talked with many Latino agents, one was from Peru and they all seemed very dedicated to their jobs and protecting our borders.
Not long ago a couple of agents were busted for taking bribes, they were caught on a video cam so the Border Patrol does police their own men.
I honestly believe these guys are doing their job the best they can but it is a very thankless job with little rewards or satifaction.
In many ways these agents have their hands tied, they want to do their job but are unable to.
I support the field agents and those that work in Intel 100%