Border Patrol Agent

[cloudbuster]

Hello, question for current BPA, so how is the community towards you (where you live), are there alot of mexican than give you the I want to hurt you look because you are a BPA.
you go outside the house in uniform or try to go in the car as fast as possible?
im just curious as to what to expect if I get in the Patrol.

im currently deployed and cant wait to get back to finish my paperwork.

[fernandez11]

As soon as they finish with the background part and everything else, your CASS will change and it will not have none of the checks that it used to have. It only going to have one line saying you have been refered to TSU

[Evangellon]

Hello, question for current BPA, so how is the community towards you (where you live), are there alot of mexican than give you the I want to hurt you look because you are a BPA.
you go outside the house in uniform or try to go in the car as fast as possible?
im just curious as to what to expect if I get in the Patrol.

im currently deployed and cant wait to get back to finish my paperwork.

The farther you are from the border, the more locals like you. Of course most Hispanics wont like you. Indians really wont like you. Many ranchers wont like you, even if you're nice to them. You wear the same uniform as 'that guy' who kicks up dust at 45mph right in front of their house, and 'that guy' who leaves the darned gate open and rancher spends three hours rounding up his cattle because closing the gate would have taken 30 seconds. The rednecks at the bar in Kansas City that you used to frequent will buy your first round of drinks when you go home to visit, however.

Regardless of who in the community likes you, its best to not be seen entering or leaving your residence in uniform. The best is to leave everything in your locker at work, but you may find yourself at a crowded station and with no seniority you'll be on a wait list for a locker for some time. Locker or no, the best option is to have a garage and park your car in it. You will receive guidance from your FTOs on this.

[Cyber_Saint]

Keep in mind that we're not the Police. The Police don't just write tickets and arrest people, they respond to calls for help, and the population in general appreciates that. We don't do that. We arrest people for smuggling and violating immigration laws. Our arrests often result in deportations, broken families, and if you've ever checked out a Spanish language newspaper, you can see some of the blatantly false things that are written about us, etc..

Don't take this as everyone hates us, because they don't but we aren't the most popular kid in school, thats for sure. I could care less if some guy tells me to go to hell or gives me a dirty look. Doesn't ruin my day a bit. I just remind myself that his taxes pay my salary and I laugh a little on the inside.

[pepe]

I received the same e-mail that everyone was talking about, but unlike anyone (assuming), mine had two attachments. The first attachment was my 2nd TSL, and the second attachment had instructions to complete my e-quip, finger prints, etc.

The time frame in my hiring process has been rather fast, yet I don't believe to have picked a preferred Geo location, such as the ones in AZ. My choice was the San Diego sector (San Clemente, Chula Vista, etc.).

[agentGONZO]

Hey does anyone know how long it takes to get a response from internal affairs, after you have replied to their NOPA letter? i did my BI in january 2011 and i got the NOPA in march 24th and i mailed off my response letter march 28th...

[22texas]

The farther you are from the border, the more locals like you. Of course most Hispanics wont like you. Indians really wont like you. Many ranchers wont like you, even if you're nice to them. You wear the same uniform as 'that guy' who kicks up dust at 45mph right in front of their house, and 'that guy' who leaves the darned gate open and rancher spends three hours rounding up his cattle because closing the gate would have taken 30 seconds. The rednecks at the bar in Kansas City that you used to frequent will buy your first round of drinks when you go home to visit, however.

Regardless of who in the community likes you, its best to not be seen entering or leaving your residence in uniform. The best is to leave everything in your locker at work, but you may find yourself at a crowded station and with no seniority you'll be on a wait list for a locker for some time. Locker or no, the best option is to have a garage and park your car in it. You will receive guidance from your FTOs on this.

I would not agree with the meat of this comment. No disrespect, I have just seen an entirely different environment where border residents treat BP Agents much like cops. The vast majority are happy you are there and there are a few who just don't like you because you enforce laws. Understand that there are alot of bad things going on in Mexico right now and the residents do not want that stuff coming across the border, they know you are helping keep it over there.

Yes they do stress that you not be seen in your uniform at your house because they do not want anyone to harm you because of your position. That is mostly a preventative measure, I have not ever heard of any border agent purposely injured or killed because of their job. You will be fine walking to your car in your uniform, and just about all agents can be seen at local restaurants during lunch in full uniform. If the job was that dangerous you would see them in ski masks like the Mexican Federal Police. You have a much higher probability of getting seriously injured on the job than because someone knows of your job and where you live.

I do believe they are treated differently in different areas and that has much to do with the way the agents at that office act. Yes, if I was a rancher and you left my gate opened I would be extremely mad when I was rounding up my animals. I would also be angry if agents are seen going 20mph over the speed limit on the cell phone without any emergency lights on or sirens. I know there is the possibility they may actually be in a hurry to an emergency, but many times it is agents who think they are above the law. Unfortunately, the few bad agents in an office can give everyone a bad wrap. Agents need to be respectful of the residents and most are.

The only people who will truely hate you for what you do are the people who operate in the illegal smuggling. Again, you should be aware of your surroundings, but it is highly unlikely that these people will do anything to you when you are outside of work. It would accomplish nothing for them but bad things. Finish off your deployment and I hope you enjoy a great career with the BP Cloudbuster.

[desertRat6]

I check in on the thread every once in a while to see whats up, so Im not sure if it has been covered or not. Anyways I had finished everything on the CASS site and just waiting on stuff with the background to clear. Then I got an email last week about resubmitting my e-quip last week because they wanted everything in digital copies and such and didnt want any hard copies. Anyways they only gave me a week to get it all in, which I did. I was just wondering if everyone got this email? Because Im thinkin that if every applicant, of the thousands that there are, got this email then there are going to be a ****load of people that didnt get this stuff done in that one week period. And Im also wondering if this means that what ever point I was at in the background is cleared and Im goin to start it over again?

[Miajr84]

Alot of people had to resubmit their background checks. If you had to resubmit your going to start over. So another 5-6 months since you submitted is tge new time frame. (if your lucky)

[CZ_Kid]

I check in on the thread every once in a while to see whats up, so Im not sure if it has been covered or not. Anyways I had finished everything on the CASS site and just waiting on stuff with the background to clear. Then I got an email last week about resubmitting my e-quip last week because they wanted everything in digital copies and such and didnt want any hard copies. Anyways they only gave me a week to get it all in, which I did. I was just wondering if everyone got this email? Because Im thinkin that if every applicant, of the thousands that there are, got this email then there are going to be a ****load of people that didnt get this stuff done in that one week period. And Im also wondering if this means that what ever point I was at in the background is cleared and Im goin to start it over again?

Don't stress it. I got the same email earlier this year. Once I took care of business, I was called by my BI. (about 30 days after sending eQIP back). We just finished last week with my BI. If all checks out, I should be expecting a poly or to enter TSU soon.

[agentGONZO]

Hey does anyone know how long it takes to get a response from internal affairs, after you have replied to their NOPA letter? i did my BI in january 2011 and i got the NOPA in march 24th and i mailed off my response letter march 28th...

[borderguard_1]

Alot of people had to resubmit their background checks. If you had to resubmit your going to start over. So another 5-6 months since you submitted is tge new time frame. (if your lucky)

Is this right? Are those who recently re-submitted our background info. going to have to wait 5-6 months? Could anyone give me a specific time table to the best of their knowledge?

[Miajr84]

Well if everything goes smooth I would assume 5-6 months since you submit until you EOD. A month to get an investigator a month or two for the investigation, polygraph if you need it, a month for poly results a month in TSU a month to EOD. See it all adds up. Could even be longer.

[gustavobullet]

Gents: I have a question. I met with my BI investigator for the first time last Thursday and BI packet was being submitted this Monday, but on CASS my packet has been in the Security Office since March of this year. I was told that he did not forsee any setback. I thought the BI interview was first and then the packet went to the Security Office. How long before I get a poly after

[ee78]

No one knows. Don't worry about CASS. My medical and fitness took three months to clear in CASS. Don't worry about that dumb system.