Border Patrol - Beyond an Election Year

Border Patrol History | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov)

1904 - Mounted watchmen of the U.S. Immigration Service patrolled the border

1917 - Higher head tax and literacy requirements for entry increased illegally entry.

1918 - Supervising Inspector Frank W. Berkshire wrote to the Commissioner-General of Immigration expressing his concerns about the lack of a coordinated, adequate effort to enforce immigration and customs laws along the border with Mexico.

1921 & 1924 – Immigration Acts enacted

1924, May 28 - Labor Appropriation Act of 1924 establishes the U.S. Border Patrol to secure the borders between inspection Stations

1925 – U.S. Border Patrol duties expanded to patrol the seacoast

1932 – Two Directors named for the Border Patrol. El Paso for the Mexican Border and Detroit for the Canadian Border, with more agents assigned to the Candian Border

1935 – Border Patrol begins to use motorized vehicles with radios, in addition to horses.

1940 – Immigration Service moved from Dept. of Labor to Dept. of Justice and 712 agents & 57 auxiliary personnel added. The force is now 1,531 officers.

1952 – Legislation codifies acts of 1917/1918 & 1924.

1993 – Operation “Hold the Line” established in El Paso to bring control to the border.

1994 – Operation “Gatekeeper” implemented, reducing illegal entries in San Diego by 75%

2003 – Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) established, U.S. Customs & Border Protection under the authority of DHS as well as the U.S. Border Patrol

2006 - Congressman  Sherman: Hearings Highlight Six Years of Republican Failure on Border Security 

• Since 2001, more than 2 million undocumented immigrants have come to the US. 
• Notwithstanding the fact that he signed the 911 Act mandating that 2,000 more Border Patrol agents be added every year from 2006-2010,
•  The 2007 funding bill for Homeland Security would provide only an additional 1,200 next year. 
• Even with the additional 1,000 agents provided recently by the emergency Katrina appropriations bill, we are still 800 agents short of the 4,000 promised in the 911 Act for 2006 and 2007.

[Edit] according to the DHS graph from 2020 the increase was

2017 - 1/25/2017   EO 13767: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements Sec. 8
.
Additional Border Patrol Agents.
Subject to available appropriations, the Secretary, through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shall take all appropriate action to hire 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents, and all appropriate action to ensure that such agents enter on duty and are assigned to duty stations as soon as is practicable.

2018 -  Response by Dept. of Homeland Security to EO 13767  DHS/CBP/PIA-055 HRM 5000

2019 - 02/27/ WASHINGTON - On February 8, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched the Fast Track Hiring Process, an expedited hiring program that streamlines the hiring process for CBP Officer (CBPO) and Border Patrol Agent (BPA) applicants who can commit to accelerated hiring timeframes. CBP’s current average time to hire for Officers and Agents is 300 days. The Fast Track Hiring Process is aimed at reducing the time to hire to 120 days or less. CBP launched fast track to expedite hiring of highly qualified agents and officers | U.S. Customs and Border Protection

2023 - 02/23  U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) announced the intent to hire 200 Air Interdiction Agents (AIA) this year through direct-hire authority, despite a drop in candidates due to a national shortage of pilots. The AIA position is open to pilots with a minimum of 1,500 hours (500 hours can be waived), including 250 pilot-in-command, 75 instrument time and 75 nighttime hours. For more information on qualifications, review Qualifications Specific to an Air Interdiction Agent.

2024 – February a $118 Billion bill would have authorized

• $18B for DHS
• $900M for Dept. of Justice
• $1B for border & immigration related issues at other agencies –
• (of which $700M would be used to support:
• More than 1,500 new Custom & Border Protection officers & Border Patrol agents. 1075 would go to the Office of Field Operations, according to National Treasury Employees Union President Doreen Greenwald.
• 1,200 ICE employees
• $500M for Immigration & Customs Enforcement staffing
• $440M – 100 Immigration Judges & support Teams (Biden had asked for 375)
• $4B for US Citizenship & Immigration Services: 4,300 new asylum officers & $56M for the Fed Law Enforcement Training Center to staff & train

However, “House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Reps. Steve Scalise, R-La., Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., issued a joint statement criticizing the bill being riddled with "loopholes" and did not go far enough to shut off immigration pathways 

The bill was also attached to legislation disbursing foreign aid, further complicating passage.

Statistics & Logistics Concerning the Borders:

• 328 ports of entry.
• 135 Border Patrol stations within 21 sectors, with 36 permanent checkpoints
• Over 21,370 Border Patrol Agents protect and patrol
  • 1,900 miles of border with Mexico (vast majority of agents patrol this border)
  • 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of border with Canada
  • [Edit] According to the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), they represent over 16,000 of an estimated 20,000+ Border Patrol agents

U.S. Border Patrol Fiscal Year Staffing Statistics (FY 1992 - FY 2020) (cbp.gov)

No chart exists for the years since FY2020 nor any statistics for each year 2020-2024

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