http://www.gvnews.com/articles/2007/02/ ... news03.txt

Sunday FEBRUARY 25, 2007
Last modified:
Saturday, February 24, 2007 10:54 PM MST

By Adrienne Mackey
The U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector held a Hiring Event Saturday to find some of the 500 new agents the agency hopes to gain by September 2008.

This mass hiring is going on nationwide and is in response to a plan announced by President Bush last year to add more than 6,000 agents to the nearly 14,000-member force.

“This is the first of 18 planned hiring events,” Joseph Battaglia, U.S. Customs and Border Protection national recruitment coordinator for the West region, said. “We’re going to Detroit in March and we have plans to host an event in New York.”

There are currently around 850 National Guardsmen stationed along the border, helping with non-law enforcement duties in order to free up agents for patrol duty, according to AP reports.

“As we gain more agents, we hope to be completely self-sufficient in the near future,” said Battaglia.

Battaglia and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Director Joe Abbott expected anywhere from 200-300 potential applicants to show up to take a pre-test.

Those who pass that short exam can move on to take the four-hour Border Patrol Agent Exam, which consists of logic and reasoning questions and tests an applicant’s language aptitude.

The ability to learn a new language is imperative because all agents must become fluent in Spanish.

“About 40 percent of applicants fail the BPA,” Abbott said. “They can come back and try again after six months.”

What is the Border Patrol looking for in a potential agent? The recruitment flier said you must: Be a U.S. citizen, have a valid state driver’s license, be physically fit, and be under the age of 40. And if you pass the BPA exam, you must also pass a background investigation, drug test, medical and physical examinations—though applicants are not subject to a psychological examination.

“What we’re trying to gain from the tests is to see if the applicant can handle the rigorous duties that go along with being an agent,” Abbott said.

Juan Delgado, 20, of Nogales, is already a reserve with the U.S. Marines, and is considering becoming an agent.

“The opportunity seems exciting, and it’s a good thing to help keep drugs out of the country,” Delgado said.

Border Patrol Agent Anthony Macias has been with the agency since 2002.

“I wanted to do law enforcement, and this ended up being the right fit with the stability, benefits and the pay,” Macias said. “I love this job because the work is good and everyday brings something new—and our office is outdoors.”

Eric Sparks, 27, who served with the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper, was at the event weighing his options against accepting a lucrative contract with Halliburton to work in the Green Zone in Iraq.

“In the near future there will be a big push for more homeland security, and a lot of funding will become available here,” Sparks said. “If I do stay here and work for the patrol, it will add a lot to my federal benefits.”

After passing the myriad of tests and questioning by an oral review board the candidate is eligible to attend the Border Patrol’s five-month training academy.

“We have to look at every person closely because we’re going to give them a badge, gun and important law enforcement duties,” Abbott said. “The public trusts us and we must keep that trust.”

In 1994, there were 300 agents protecting the 260 miles along the Arizona-Mexico border, in ‘96 there were 702 agents on the force, and there were 1,500 in 2000 —the agency ultimately hopes to end up with 3,100 agents as a result of the hiring push.

Starting salaries for new agents are in the $30,000 to $40,000 range, and agents in service three years have earning potential above $70,000.

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One comment left at the time this was posted:

"The DHS doesn't want the border enforced. Ask Ramos and Compean in their prison cells about that. This administration wants to facilitate drugs and illegal aliens into our country for their benefits. Think again about becoming a BP agent."