The desperation of the Border Patrol

The Border Patrol (CBP) is desperate. The body that protects the nation's borders is facing a record flood of illegal immigrants trying to enter the country, as well as a notable increase in the activity of Mexican cartels and drug and human traffickers. All this with limited personnel and serious difficulties in obtaining new recruits, which has led to offering bonuses of up to $20,000 to new recruits and asking for volunteers among active agents to relocate.

The final amount of recruitment incentives will depend on where the new agents begin their service. Thus, those who accept as a destination those areas where the Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security are finding it most difficult to fill their ranks will receive a higher bonus. In this regard, since November last year, a bonus of US$10,000 has been offered after passing the academy, plus another US$10,000 for those working in the hottest areas.

Pressure from illegal immigrants does not cease

The locations where new officers will receive higher bonuses are: Sierra Blanca (Texas); Presidio (Texas); Sanderson (Texas); Comstock (Texas); Freer (Texas); Hebbronville (Texas); Ajo (Arizona); and Lordsburg (New Mexico). To receive the bonuses, recruits must remain in the corps for two years. In addition, they must have U.S. citizenship, a valid driver's license, the ability to carry a firearm, and have their application approved.

The arrival of huge numbers of illegal immigrants into the country continues unabated. So far this fiscal year, despite a slowdown in the rate of entries since January, the number of illegal encounters has already exceeded one million. Last fiscal year saw a record number of immigrant arrivals (2.4 million), and experts predict that this figure may be surpassed in 2023. Since Joe Biden's arrival in the White House, more than four million illegal immigrants have managed to reach national territory.

Number of assaults on officers on the rise

In addition, the profile of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border is changing. More and more military-age men are being apprehended by border agents, which has increased the number of aggressions against the security forces.

As if that were not enough, cartel activity including drug smuggling and human trafficking have soared in the face of the Biden Administration's lax attitude toward the border. Seizures of narcotic substances, including the lethal fentanyl, continue to grow.

Call for volunteers for the northern border

The problem is not only on the southern border. According to CBP data, the entry of illegal aliens across the northern border increased by 846% last fiscal year. The arrival of the winter storm has not prevented numerous immigrants from continuing to enter in an illegal or undocumented situation, especially in the Swanton sector. The situation has overwhelmed the agents deployed there, to the point that the deputy chief of the Border Patrol, Juan Garcia, sent a request by internal mail requesting additional volunteers to reinforce this sector during the month of March.

Last month alone, more arrests were made (367) than the total number of arrests made in January of the last twelve years. Temperatures of -4ºF were not enough to discourage the immigrants, mostly Mexicans, from attempting to cross the border, risking their lives and even the lives of the agents charged with carrying out rescue operations in some cases.