Thread: Local Residents Take Action To Secure Border

http://www.wjactv.com/news/10378700/detail.html

Nov 26, 2006

Local Residents Take Action To Secure Border
Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants have poured into the region in recent years -- something officials said puts a heavy strain on the state's schools, hospitals and employers.

But now, some local residents are taking action thousands of miles away in the U.S. desert.

The U.S. Border Patrol opened a new training facility in the remote city of Artesia in southern New Mexico, and President George W. Bush recently ordered the academy to do what some former agent call "the impossible" -- train 6,000 new agents by 2008.

Some said the task is a tall one for an academy accustomed to training and deploying only a few hundred agents each year.

Clark Messer, a border patrol training supervisor, said, "We're faced with the monumental task of training a lot more people than we have in the past, but we feel we can get it done." Training isn't quick, nor is it easy. Our cameras were allowed behind closed doors at the academy and found agents struggling with some fierce requirements.

All students must complete 125 hours of physical training, including a challenging obstacle course, which consists of a rope climb, balance beam and several other tests of balance and strength. They must also finish a 1.5-mile run in less than 13 minutes.

All are required to be marksmen, with thorough training on firing ranges. All students are also required to complete dozens of hours of driver training, which includes pursuits and off-road maneuvering.

Students must complete classes in immigration law, and -- in a requirement that many students dread -- all must complete 214 hours of Spanish lessons. Trainees are regularly tested and must pass a final exam, which requires near-fluency of the Spanish language. Ian Cruikshank, a recruit who is halfway through the 91-day training program, said fellow students spend four to five hours a night studying their Spanish notes.

"The classmates I have are from Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan. They have a bit more difficulty conquering that," said Cruikshank.

Trainees must also follow military-style protocols while on the academy campus. NEWS9 cameras captured video of students "rising to attention" and loudly greeting the arrival of a Border Patrol supervisor with the words, "Supervisor present. Good morning, sir."

Border Patrol recruits vary in age, but they must be younger than 40. The U.S. Border Patrol recently raised its age limit from 37 in an effort to draw more recruits.

The job, which pays $35,000 per year to start, requires students train in the old, small, desert city. All graduates are then immediately posted in a position along the southwest border in cities like Yuma, Ariz., and El Paso, Texas.

Recruiters are searching for new agents in all 50 states. But the rigid training and the forced relocation to the southwest are huge hurdles for those recruiters.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes of El Paso, himself a former Border Patrol agent, said he's skeptical that so many graduates can be churned out so quickly.

"I don't think it's a reachable (goal), I don't think it's a good idea. I don't think they'll be able to do it," Reyes said.

Still, the patrol has managed to deploy about 2,000 agents so far this year. They've also managed to recruit a large class of new agents, including Jesse Renteria, a former California casino worker.

Renteria said he's eager to join the patrol because he's frustrated by the onslaught of illegal immigrants in the U.S.

He said, "I want to keep the whole United States safe and do a service for everybody."

Border Patrol Agent

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