By Susan E. Lindt
The Intelligencer Journal
LANCASTER, Penn. — Looking for a job in a sort of exotic locale?
For the first time, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is recruiting locally for border patrol agents.
“Our agents protect America in America,” said Joe Abbott, national recruiting director, whose office will be looking for new employees in Harrisburg on Saturday.
Specifically, the available jobs include patrolling 7,000 miles of Mexican and Canadian international land borders and 95,000 miles of shoreline.
Border patrol agents are responsible for detecting, preventing and apprehending terrorists, undocumented immigrants and smugglers of immigrants or illegal goods near borders.
In 2006, President George W. Bush announced he would add 6,000 border patrol agents by the end of 2008, bringing their ranks to 18,000 - the largest border patrol expansion in history.
To date, 16,850 agents are on board, so there still are plenty of vacancies if you can pass a multitude of tests.
Recruiters will be on hand from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Crown Plaza Harrisburg Hotel, 23 S. Second St., to ease the process. They’ll answer applicants’ questions; help applicants complete online applications; offer test-taking tips, practice tests and evaluation; and share their own experiences with the agency.
Border patrol jobs pay between $36,000 and $46,000 in the first year. Agents have the potential of earning up to $70,000 a year within three years on the job.
The jobs include federal health insurance, life insurance and retirement and up to 25 percent in overtime pay opportunities.
But to get the job, applicants must pass a rigorous screening process, including a written test and structured interview, a Spanish proficiency test, a physical fitness test and a medical examination.
Applicants who make it through screening then take a 55-day training program in New Mexico. Those who don’t pass a Spanish proficiency exam in the academy must also complete a 40-day Spanish immersion course after basic training.
The successful applicants will be placed in jobs in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
Abbott said recruiting efforts have been spread out from border states as much to fulfill Bush’s commitment to boast the border patrol numbers as to spread the word about the border patrol.
“This is as much about public education as it is recruiting border patrol agents,” Abbott said. “We are recruiting in states that may not be as familiar with the border patrol, and we are certain that with awareness comes interest in this unparalleled federal law enforcement opportunity.”
Copyright 2008 The Intelligencer Journal