Border Patrol agents conducting patrols on ATVs in 2005.
The U.S. Border Patrol has a problem: It needs to fill jobs quickly. It’s asking public relations firms for help.
Recruiters are traveling all around the country, trying to convince people to come and apply. But among the challenges presented, the agency is learning that people just don’t want to work in Arizona, so it’s making this state more appealing.
On a recent March morning, a few hundred people crowded a job fair held in a nondescript building on Davis-Monthan Air Force base in Tucson. Hospitals and school districts staffed tables with brochures, as recruiters from Tucson police, the Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Border Patrol made their pitches.
On its face, the Border Patrol should be easily hiring the agents it needs. Take Moises Sanchez, a 30-year-old Marine with short-cropped hair and brawny arms who paused at the agency’s table to look over what it has to offer.
"I want to keep serving this country in one way or another by protecting our borders or in whatever other aspects are needed," Sanchez said.
Sanchez seems like an ideal candidate.
"Locality really don’t matter to me. A job’s a job. that’s the way I look at it."
In fact, he said he doesn’t even care whether he works for the Border Patrol, those agents in green working in the desert, or Customs and Border Protection, those in blue working at ports of entry into the U.S.
But when it comes to staffing the Southwest border, CBP is having a tough time convincing people to move here.
And so it’s asking cities in the Southwest, like Tucson, to help sell their town and fill that job.
"Something really important for us, when we’re having a dialogue with CBP, 'What do you hear out there?' I mean, 'What do you hear in New Hampshire? What do you hear in Wyoming about Southern Arizona?'" said Felipe Garcia, with Visit Tucson, a marketing firm that promotes the city.
"It’s phenomenal, the misconceptions we hear. So, for example, we talk to recruiters. We hear, well, that it’s dangerous because of the proximity to Mexico. We hear issues of, well, 'We understand that there’s no supermarkets close by, that you have to drive hours to get to a grocery store.'"
One problem: Recruiters don’t know the area, so Garcia invited the recruiters to let his company show them the area, including the Nogales, Arizona, border region.
"Just like an 'ah-ha' moment, saying, 'Whoa! this is not what we thought as recruiters in Southern Arizona.' And I think it was a really good investment to bring these individuals here to help us bring quality people to our sector."
A Border Patrol recruiter speaks with a potential applicant during a job fair at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, March 8, 2018.But shortages abound. The Government Accountability Office, Congress’s investigative arm, found that the Border Patrol is still shy 2,000 agents. That’s on top of an extra 5000 president donald trump ordered to be hired when he took office more than a year ago.
The CBP union warns port inspectors are being worked to dangerous levels of exhaustion, often ordered to pull double shifts. Meanwhile, some agents prefer commuting 120 miles to the border, one way, from Phoenix.
CBP is offering $10,000 cash bonuses to inspectors willing to come to Arizona. And it’s developed a fast-track program so if inspectors take an Arizona position, they can advance to more desirable locations.
"Some of the ports of entry in Arizona are in less populated areas that don’t necessarily have the amenities they want," said CBP spokeswoman Meredith Mingledorf. "But there are certain individuals who that would love to live in a rural environment. I’m one of those. I like a nice, quiet life. I like a nice quiet scenery, and Arizona has that to offer me.
Border Patrol spokesman Chris Sullivan is also a recruiter. He says the job is fun.
"You can ride ATVs. There’s bike patrol. If you like to ride bicycles, you can do that. There’s horse patrol, there’s different units. Flex team units. if you like to hike, you get paid to go out there and hike," Sullivan said.
The challenge is convincing applicants to take those fun sounding jobs in a place like Ajo, population 3,000
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