Career Profiles and Job Opportunities for Border Patrol Agent

An integral part of the security system put in place by the federal government in United States, the Border Patrol collaborates with the Customs and Border Protection Department in the country. While prevention of illegal immigration and smuggling activities is the overall responsibility of the Border Patrol, providing insider information on such activities in a timely manner is the responsibilities of the Border Patrol Agent.

Major Responsibilities

Major responsibilities of the Border Patrol Agent is to-

Trace out cases of illegal immigration and preventing such immigration by alerting the Border Patrol in time.
Identification of illegal immigrants so that the Border Patrol can detain them.
Gathering information on smuggling operations and intimating the Border Patrol in time for prevention of such operations.
Gathering such information on the terrorist activities across the border and preventing terrorist infiltration in the country.
Job Prospects

With rise in the number of illegal immigrations, smuggling and terrorist activities across the globe, it is necessary for the Border Patrol to remain alert and prevent all such activities. Since it is basically the duty of the Border Patrol Agent to provide such information and assist in their preventions, more and more numbers of agents are required by the federal government. In result the job prospects is quite bright for career aspirants desirous of building up a career as an agent of the patrolling agency.

Nature of Job

United States Border Patrol is mobile law enforcement agency in uniforms for the Customs and Border Protection Organization (CBP). Some of the jobs of the agent would be to –

Monitor illegal entry across the border by immigrants, terrorists, and cargo like smuggled goods and weapons for domestic terrorists;
Prevention of illegal trafficking of people and contraband goods;
Help Border Patrol to monitor and petrol the 6,000 miles long Canadian and Mexican international borders besides the 2,000 miles long coastal waters from Florida Peninsula to Puerto Rico Islands; and
Basically the agent is the line watch for the department and agency.
Education and Training

Candidates with knowledge in foreign languages would be preferred for the agent job. There will also be three tier training on logical reasoning, Spanish language, and assessment of past career and experiences. Candidates with degree in criminal justice, a valid driver’s license, and below 40 years in age would be preferred.