Oscar
Charleston, SC
Male, 31
Spent a bit over four years (2006-2010) serving as a Border Patrol Agent in Tucson Sector, AZ: the busiest sector in the country. Worked numerous positions, and spent the last year and a half operating/instructing ground radar installations. Duties included: field patrols, transport, processing, control room duties, transportation check, checkpoint operations, static watch duties, etc.
I wish I could give you a concise and accurate answer. There are numerous terrorist organizations who have been located in Mexico, dealing or working with the cartels. Simply put the cartels are the masters of infiltrating the U.S., using their expertise.
A week after 9/11 a dozen Chechens were caught coming across the Southern border. Hezbollah militants have been spotted in Mexico. I do believe the cartels know full well this could bring a lot of heat if something horrible can be traced back to them. However, unfortunately, we had a saying in the Patrol "we only catch the dumb ones". It's very simple to catch trucks driving through the desert carrying dope, or catching large groups of illegals walking blatantly across the border.
But small, secret tunnels, small nearly-undetectable ultralight aircraft, etc. are much harder to locate. I suspect any genuine terrorist activity is kept well below our radar. Imagine the funds available to Al Qaeda, Hezbollah etc. I'm sure they can make it financially worthwhile to the cartels to assist them.
I think it deserves some serious attention - and we have intelligence agencies pursuing this exact possibility. I wish I knew more about it to answer more appropriately.
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Honestly I don't even remember. If I recall they were quite simple, logic based questions - to verify that you're not a complete dolt. The part I was more concentrated on was the language aptitude part. That was, interesting.
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Our dope (marijuana and otherwise) was picked up and disposed of by the DEA.
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There was a lot of tension between the local indian tribal police and ourselves. The Tohono O'Odham indian police were often very shady (and caught doing rather suspicious things). The entire reservation was corrupt/dirty so these police often had family members who were into illegal stuff as well.
You'd occasionally catch the police driving at night in the desert, lights out - well beyond their patrol areas. They'd invent some story about what they were doing etc. Likewise they would attempt to pull over BP vehicles when we were tailing suspicious vehicles etc. It was always an interesting time with them.
The only issues we had with local deputies or police was simply due to manpower. They'd get mad at us when we didn't have enough agents to respond to their immigration issues, and we'd get mad when they wouldn't come pick up warrants because we were too far away from them etc. It was never harsh, just frustrating from both ends.
Sheriff Joe (Maricopa County Sheriff) was always a cool cat. I actually liked that he openly berated DHS etc. for not doing our job better. He would bring news cameras etc. with him when he turned over tons of illegal immigrants to the local I.C.E. office who didn't want to process them etc. He really gets stuff done, and doesn't take nonsense from anyone.
There is so much criminal traffic out in AZ that all LEO's pretty much gel together when the proverbial feces hit the wind oscillator. You'd always stop to back up local PD, DPS guys, or Sheriff's Deputies etc. They would likewise stop and check on you.
I was involved in a 120-mile pursuit one time which involved: BP Agents from two stations, indian police, sheriff's deputies, sheriff's drug task force, DPS, and two local police departments. It got downright confusing, but we got the vehicle. In short, we never had the silly TV show drama.
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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)
Is there a big difference in the amount of mail you deliver today from 5-10 years ago?
Birthday Party Clown
What's the meanest thing a kid ever said to you during a party?
Pharmaceutical Researcher
Is there or isn't there a cure for AIDS?
Illegal immigrants seldom end up in court. If they do, it is by their choice, selecting a "notice to appear" action where they will go and plead their case with an immigration judge. This seldom results in a different result. If a person has the means they may attempt to hire an immigration lawyer to aid them in their plea. This is not like normal criminal court, as the simple physical presence of a person in the US illegally is obvious proof of guilt. If an illegal immigrant goes to court for criminal charges they will get a normal defense lawyer as any other criminal.
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There is not a dictionary that I am aware of. A candidate must be fluent in English in order to be a BPA. Most of the trainees in my class who failed out of the academy had poor English skills and were unable to pass the classes and law tests. The law classes require excellent English as there is a lot of legal language which is extremely important to comprehend.
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It does not currently, and I doubt it did previously. If it's an offensive tattoo in an obvious location - possibly. No face tattoos or stupid nonsense on your knuckles/neck/etc.
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