Lorraine Rivera reports
Breaking gender barriers on border
October 27, 2008

On the U.S. Mexico border there's a small population of women patrolling America's front line. In the Tucson Sector there are 3,047 agents of those only 158 are female. Amanda Contreras is one of them.

On a recent fall day along the border near Sasabe she takes News 4 to Caballo Tank; an area frequently traveled by illegal immigrants. Today there are no fresh prints only tracks left behind from the night before when Amanda and another agent arrested a a fairly large sized group.

She's independent; working alone. Amanda slips her service vehicle into 4 wheeled drive as she travels through rough terrain. "It's not knowing what's going to happen that keeps it exciting," she says scanning her her surroundings.

Amanda used to sell insurance, but four years ago decided to become an agent like her dad, "It was pretty exciting I thought it might be something i'd like to do."

She works a variety of shifts that includes days and nights, "It's a little eerie but you get used to it and it's a little bit more exciting at night too."

The US Border Patrol has stepped up their recruiting efforts to find not only women, even minorities; qualified people interested in securing America's borders. Nationwide, only five percent of agents are women.

"I think it's important that women join the Border Patrol to have the same opportunities as everybody else," Amanda said.

She encourages women to consider a career in law enforcement, "If you have determination I think you could do anything just because you're female doesn't mean you can't have a career that's predominantly male."

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