July 1, 1999

INS Kicks Off Unprecedented Recruiting Effort
For Border Patrol Agents

DALLAS, Tex. — In an effort to boost the number of potential Border Patrol applicants, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Commissioner Doris Meissner today announced the inauguration of an enhanced approach to Border Patrol recruiting.

This first-time national effort will be led by 200 Border Patrol agents, trained in recruitment techniques, who will fan out across the country to maximize INS’ ability to reach potential applicants. In addition to national recruiting efforts, these new Border Patrol recruiters will handle community outreach and local recruitment activities.

"Our best recruiting tool is our own agents," said Commissioner Meissner. "With today’s tight labor market and low unemployment, it has been a challenge to attract new recruits in the numbers we need. We believe these new recruiters will be able to reach a wealth of untapped potential applicants in their communities."

The first 100 agents conclude their training in recruitment techniques today, and Commissioner Meissner is in Dallas to personally congratulate the agents on completing this four-day course. The agents are being trained by Achieve Global, the company that works with U.S. Marine Corps recruiters. The training is designed to the give the agents practical information on the competitive marketplace and help them develop short- and long-term recruiting strategies. The final group of 100 agents will be trained in San Diego July 12-15.

The INS has met its hiring goals for the past four years and exceeded them for the past three years. From FY 1996 to date, the agency has hired a total of 5,802 Border Patrol agents for a net of 3,219 new agents. However, because of a strong economy that affords applicants multiple job opportunities, the agency expects to be able to hire 1,200 or 1,400 new agents for a total increase in Border Patrol staffing of only 300 to 400 agents in FY 1999. The team of 200 Border Patrol recruiters is the cornerstone of INS’ new recruitment and hiring strategy to meet this challenge. Other efforts include:

• Vigorously intensifying recruiting efforts by visiting twice as many military bases and three times as many colleges in FY 1999 as compared to FY 1998.
• Creating a new number 1-800-238-1945 with information on frequently asked questions about Border Patrol agent positions and the application process.
• Developing and placing new Border Patrol classified and display ads in hundreds of newspapers, college placement manuals and a wide variety of other journals and magazines.
• Establishing a new compressed testing concept that allows applicants to take the test and receive their results immediately upon completion of the exam. Applicants then fill out an application package with a form for the background investigation. They will be scheduled for oral interviews (oral boards) the following day. Drug tests and medical exams are also scheduled. INS implemented compressed testing in San Diego, El Paso and Harlingen and will expand the process in the next two months to four other sites–Tucson, San Antonio, New York City and Buffalo.

"The new recruitment strategy is designed to greatly increase the number of Border Patrol applicants," said Border Patrol Chief Gus De La Viña. "These agent recruiters know their communities and are not only good at their jobs, but they also enjoy the work that they do. They have a personal commitment to finding our nation’s best and brightest for a job that is extremely demanding but very rewarding."

— INS —