WESLACO – The federal government will have fewer agents patrolling the border by next fiscal year.
It’s under the proposed budget released by the Department of Homeland Security. The agency is budgeting for 300 fewer agents in 2017 than they did for this fiscal year.
Since September, Border Patrol agents have been catching more unaccompanied children and families at the border.
“One, we have people turning themselves in at unprecedented rates. Then we have the people that are always coming in illegally,” National Border Patrol Council Local 3307 Vice President Chris Cabrera said. “Then we have the drug flow that’s coming north and the money that’s going south and guns that are going south. And to cut jobs at a time like this is a recipe for disaster.”
For the 2017 fiscal year, Border Patrol plans to field a little more than 21,000 agents. By its projections, the agency pays $181,000 per year in operational costs for each agent. ....
Posts
