Migrant processing at Paso del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas, February 26, 2021. Image: CBP / Glenn Fawcett
By: FEDweek StaffAn inspector general report has found that mandatory details of CBP agents from a Northern sector to aid operations in the Southwest have “affected recruitment, retention, and morale.”
The report follows one issued just weeks ago in which the IG said that the workload of CBP agents (along with ICE agents) has been increasing and that a survey showed that the use of details and overtime has resulted in feelings of overwork and frustration over lack of work-life balance.
The latest report involved unannounced inspections of ports of entry and Border Patrol facilities in the northern New York and Vermont areas, called the Swanton sector, in which the IG concluded that the sector is generally following requirements regarding search and detention of migrants.
However, the report added that the sector has detailed Border Patrol agents to assist several Southwest border sectors with migrant processing, sending them to the Southwest border for mandatory in-person 30-day details or assigning them to 60-day rotations to conduct remote or virtual immigration processing from a local Northern border station.
Detailed agents were typically given 60 days between rotations, but some returned to the Southwest border when agents schedule for the detail became sick, it said.
“Swanton sector officials said they had difficulty filling positions because agents were aware their duties would include frequent details to the Southwest border. They also reported that some agents working in the sector have retired at the minimum age or left for other work in other agencies because of the details,” it said.
“Officials said the heavy burden on spouses and children when agents are detailed has affected morale among families,” it added.
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