page_title: United States Border Patrol
section_title: Expansion
hierarchical_section_title: United States Border Patrol / Expansion
caption_attribution_description: English: Inside the Greyhoud Bus Station in Detroit, Michigan. The people in green uniforms are U.S. Border Patrol Agents.
context_page_description: The United States Border Patrol is the United States Customs and Border Protection's federal law enforcement arm within the United States Department of Homeland Security. The USBP is the armed and uniformed federal police that secure the borders of the United States by detecting and preventing illegal aliens, terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, and prevent illegal trafficking of people and contraband.
  With 19,437 agents, the Border Patrol is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For fiscal year 2017, Congress enacted a budget of $3,805,253,000 for the Border Patrol.
  The current chief of the Border Patrol is Rodney Scott.
context_section_description: In 1992, the United States Border Patrol had approximately 4,139 Patrol Agents on the job.  Attrition in the Border Patrol was normally at 5%.  From 1995–2001 annual attrition rose to above 10%, which was a period when the Border Patrol was undergoing massive hiring.  In 2002 the attrition rate climbed to 18%.  The 18% attrition was largely attributed to agents transferring to the Federal Air Marshals after 9/11. Since that time the attrition rate has decreased. Congress increased journeyman Border Patrol Agent pay from a GS-9 rate to a GS-11 rate in 2002.   The Border Patrol Marine Position was created in 2009 (BPA-M).
  The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (signed by President Bush on December 17, 2004) authorized hiring an additional 10,000 agents, "subject to appropriation". This authorization nearly doubled the Border Patrol manpower from 11,000 to 20,000 agents by 2010. As of 2016, roughly half of the agents are Latino Americans.
  The Secure Fence Act, signed by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2006, has met with much opposition. In October 2007, environmental groups and concerned citizens filed a restraining order hoping to halt the construction of the fence, set to be built between the United States and Mexico. The act mandates that the fence be built by December 2008. Ultimately, the United States seeks to put fencing around the 1,945-mile (3,130 km) border, but the act requires only 700 miles (1,100 km) of fencing. DHS secretary Michael Chertoff has bypassed environmental and other oppositions with a waiver that was granted to him by Congress in Section 102 of the act, which allows DHS to avoid any conflicts that would prevent a speedy assembly of the fence.
  This action has led many environment groups and landowners to speak out against the impending construction of the fence. Environment and wildlife groups fear that the plans to clear brush, construct fences, install bright lights, motion sensors, and cameras will scare wildlife and endanger the indigenous species of the area. Environmentalists claim that the ecosystem could be affected because a border fence would restrict movement of all animal species, which in turn would keep them from water and food sources on one side or another. Desert plants would also feel the impact, as they would be uprooted in many areas where the fence is set to occupy.
  In 2008, property owners in these areas feared a loss of land. Landowners would have had to give some of their land over to the government for the fence. Brownsville mayor Pat Ahumada favored alternative options to a border fence. He suggested that the Rio Grande be widened and deepened to provide for a natural barrier to hinder illegal aliens and drug smugglers.
caption: U.S. Border Patrol Agents at the Greyhound bus station in Detroit, Michigan in February 2011. Immigration checks on trains, buses, and highways within 100 miles of the northern border have become more common.[25]
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