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U.S. Border Patrol vehicles are pictured near the Paso Del Norte International Bridge at the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on September 12, 2019.(PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images)
() — Less than four months after offering new recruits upwards to $10,000 in a signing incentive for those who commit one year with the Border Patrol, President Joe Biden’s administration announced they’re doubling the bonus.
Announced Nov. 1 on its website, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is now offering up to $20,000 for new recruits that make it through the polygraph and five-month academy training in an effort to combat the record high of migrant surges at the southern border. The $20,000 is for recruits who choose a post at a hard-to-fill location.
“Newly appointed Border Patrol Agents who meet the criteria … will be offered a $10,000 recruitment incentive upon successful completion of the academy,” the advertisement states.
“ditionally, new agents assigned to a hard-to-fill duty location will be eligible for an additional $10,000 recruitment incentive (for a total of $20,000),” the ad continues. “Hard-to-fill locations include: Sierra Blanca, TX; Presidio, TX; Sanderson, TX; Comstock, TX; Lordsburg, NM; Freer, TX; Hebbronville, TX; Ajo, AZ. All incentive recipients will be required to sign a two-year service agreement.”
As well as upping the incentive, Border Patrol is also asking for an extra year of service compared to the August ad.
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Unchanged, however, are the requirements for eligibility, which include no previous law enforcement or military experience, although a bachelor’s degree “with superior academic achievement” is among the stipulations.
The U.S. has had dwindling Border Patrol officer numbers since 2016, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 2019 report on attrition. Factors cited included other jobs, retirement, termination, and resignation which helped dismantle the department’s massive hiring stint during President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush administrations.
It’s an area former President Donald Trump tried addressing with his executive order mandating an additional 5,000 Border Patrol agents should be hired.
The initiative did not come to fruition as Congress shrunk the number of Border Patrol personnel it required from 21,370 to 19,500 under the Trump administration.
The job ad shows a sense of urgency for the situation at the border as, for the first time ever, the total number of migrant encounters surpassed 2 million in a single fiscal year.
