President Donald Trump plans to hire 15,000 Border Patrol and ICE agents to enforce his immigration executive orders.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Tucson Sector has nearly 4,000 agents, and now they are in recruitment mode looking to fill several hundred positions.
"We consistently have a flow of applicants, we would like that number to be greater," said Daniel Hernandez with CBP's Tucson Sector.
Just spoke with @CustomsBorder's Tucson sector... they have roughly 4,000 agents and looking to hire several hundred more @kgun9
— Priscilla KGUN9 (@PriscillaCasper) March 9, 2017
Agent Hernandez says to begin the process, interested applicants can apply online. Then they will complete a written and physical endurance exam, and polygraph.
U.S. Senators Jeff Flake, John McCain and Ron Johnson introduced Boots on the Border Act Thursday.
They say this will help address CBP's hiring shortfalls by waiving the polygraph requirement for veterans, military service members, and law enforcement officers, according to a press release Thursday
Agent Hernandez says the Tucson sector has about 30% of agents are veterans and he says that has impacted their experience in the field.
"It is a great asset to have the folks from the military bring a lot of experience from overseas deployments... the soldiers that transition to the civilian life are great agents," he explained. "They are in great physical shape, they know the discipline, they know what a rigorous job entails."
He says the base starting salary is mid $40,000.
