United States Border Patrol

Border Patrol Agents with a Hummer and Astar patrol for illegal entry into the United States

The Border Patrol's priorities have changed over the years. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act placed renewed emphasis on controlling illegal immigration by going after the employers that hire illegal aliens. The belief was that jobs were the magnet that attracted most illegal aliens to come to the United States. The Border Patrol increased interior enforcement and Form I-9 audits of businesses through an inspection program known as "employer sanctions". Several agents were assigned to interior stations, such as within the Livermore Sector in Northern California.

Employer sanctions never became the effective tool it was expected to be by Congress. Illegal immigration continued to swell after the 1986 amnesty despite employer sanctions. By 1993, Californians passed Proposition 187, denying benefits to illegal aliens and criminalizing illegal aliens in possession of forged green cards, identification cards, and Social Security numbers. It also authorized police officers to question non-nationals as to their immigration status and required police and sheriff departments to cooperate and report illegal aliens to the INS. Proposition 187 drew nationwide attention to illegal immigration.

United States Border Patrol Interior Checkpoints are inspection stations operated by the USBP within 100 miles (160 km) of an international border (with Mexico or Canada) or any U.S. coastline.[12]

In June 1954, immigration law enforcement launched “Operation Wetback,” where hundereds of USBP officers (aside from the ones already stationed) were flown out or bussed to California, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, and the Mississippi Delta to deport unsanctioned immigrants. USBP used military-style strategies and transportation machines provided by the government such as trains, planes, and boats.

During Operation Wetback, the Border Patrol arrested approximately 1.3 million people, mostly Mexican nationals, making it the largest mass deportation of undocumented workers in U.S. history.[13]

USBP received a lot of pushback from the community not only because of their militrized tacits, but also because of their use of the term “wetback.” “Wetback” is a racially discriminatory and derogatory slur used against immigrants who allegedly entered the United States by swimming across the Rio Grande River. In addition to the racially discriminatory connotations attributed to the title of the operation, those who were deported, along with the community, criticized how a larger percentage of the people who were forced back to Mexico did not have relational ties or economic stability in that country. Therefore, deportees were left stranded without jobs, housing, or food.

El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Silvestre Reyes started a program called "Operation Hold the Line". In this program, Border Patrol agents would no longer react to illegal entries resulting in apprehensions, but would instead be forward deployed to the border, immediately detecting any attempted entries or deterring crossing at a more remote location. The idea was that it would be easier to capture illegal entrants in the wide open deserts than through the urban alleyways. Chief Reyes deployed his agents along the Rio Grande, within eyesight of other agents. The program significantly reduced illegal entries in the urban part of El Paso, however, the operation merely shifted the illegal entries to other areas.

Patrolling the beach in San Diego County, California

Congressman Duncan Hunter became a major proponent of additional border fencing in the San Diego sector; surplus military landing mats were obtained to use as an initial border fence.[14] Stadium lighting, ground sensors and infra-red cameras were also placed in the area. Eventually the primitive landing mat fence was replaced with a modern triple fence line[15][16] that begins over one hundred yards into the Pacific Ocean at Imperial Beach, California, and ends more than 13 miles (19 km) inland on Otay Mesa where the mountains begin.

An agent armed with an M14 rifle tracking someone in harsh winter conditions on the northern border.

Border crossing to Canada at Beebe Plain, Vermont

Through agency whistleblowers, Agent Mark Hall and Agent Robert Lindemann, it was revealed that in 2001, the Border Patrol had approximately 324 agents assigned along the Canada–United States border.[17] Northern border staffing had been increased by 1,128 agents to 1,470 agents by the end of fiscal year 2008, and is projected to expand to 1,845 by the end of fiscal year 2009, a sixfold increase. Resources that support Border Patrol agents include the use of new technology and a more focused application of air and marine assets.

The northern border sectors are (west to east): Blaine (Washington), Spokane (Washington), Havre (Montana), Grand Forks (North Dakota), Detroit (Selfridge ANGB, Michigan), Buffalo (New York), Swanton (Vermont), and Houlton (Maine).[18]

Cameras add "Smart Border" surveillance.

In November 2005, the U.S. Border Patrol published an updated national strategy.[19] The goal of this updated strategy was operational control of the United States border. The strategy has five main objectives:

• Apprehend terrorists and terrorist weapons illegally entering the United States
• Deter illegal entries through improved enforcement
• Detect, apprehend, and deter smugglers of humans, drugs, and other contraband
• Use "smart border" technology
• Reduce crime in border communities, improving quality of life.

The Border Patrol, c. 2007, wore the following types of uniforms:

A color guard composed of CBP officers and USBP agents at a Washington, D.C. ceremony in May 2007

• Summer dress uniform – The summer dress uniform consists of a short-sleeve, olive-green dress shirt (which may or may not have blue shoulder straps), brass nameplate, badge, olive-green slacks with a blue stripe running the length of the seam, and black dress shoes or dress boots. A green, straw campaign hat is worn with this uniform.
• Winter dress uniform – The winter dress uniform consists of a long-sleeve, olive green dress shirt, navy-blue clip-on tie with a brass tie tack, olive-green ike jacket with blue accents (shoulder straps and cuffs), brass nameplate, badge, olive-green slacks with a blue stripe running the length of the seam, and black dress shoes or dress boots. a green, felt campaign hat with a black, leather hat band is worn with this uniform.
• Ceremonial dress uniform – Worn primarily by Border Patrol honor guard agents, the ceremonial dress uniform is roughly identical to the winter dress uniform, with the exception that a tunic is worn with this uniform, rather than an ike jacket. White, cloth gloves are also worn with this uniform.
• Rough duty uniform – The rough duty uniform consists of a green, long-sleeve or short-sleeve work shirt, green cargo pants, and black work boots; a green baseball cap or cowboy hat is typically worn with this uniform.
  • There are also specialized rough duty uniforms for marine patrol (riverine), northern border cold weather, horse patrol and bike patrol agents.
• Highland uniform – Worn by members of the United States Border Patrol Pipes and Drums in the performance of their official duties, this uniform includes a kilt made of the official Border Patrol tartan, custom made olive-green ceremonial coat, glengarry, sporran and white spats.
• Organization patches – The Border Patrol wears two:
  • The CBP patch is worn on the right sleeves of the uniform. It contains the DHS seal against a black background with a "keystone" shape. A keystone is the central, wedge-shaped stone in an arch, which holds all the other stones in place.
  • Border Patrol agents retain the circular legacy Border Patrol patch, which is worn on the left sleeve.

The Border Patrol uniform is getting its first makeover since the 1950s to appear more like military fatigues and less like a police officer's duty garb.[41] Leather belts with brass buckles are being replaced by nylon belts with quick-release plastic buckles, slacks are being replaced by lightweight cargo pants, and shiny badges and nameplates are being replaced by cloth patches.

The Border Patrol's highest honor is the Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism. This award is bestowed to Border Patrol agents for extraordinary actions, service; accomplishments reflecting unusual courage or bravery in the line of duty; or an extraordinarily heroic or humane act committed during times of extreme stress or in an emergency.

This award is named for Border Patrol inspectors Theodore Newton[42] and George Azrak,[43] who were murdered by two drug smugglers in San Diego County in 1967.

A Border Patrol Honor Guard Agent carrying an M14 rifle.

Border Patrol agents have a choice of being issued either the Glock 47 or the Glock 19M pistol in 9mm caliber. The Glock 47 can contain as many as 18 rounds of ammunition (17 in the magazine and 1 in the chamber), while the Glock 19 can contain as many as 16 rounds. Up until 1995 the Border Patrol issued its patrol agents .357 Magnum revolvers as their duty sidearms, Smith & Wesson or Ruger model large frame, six-shot revolvers. The Border Patrol preferred this weapon because it did not jam in harsh conditions, like those of the southwestern border, and also because of the strong "stopping power" of the .357 Magnum cartridge. Although up until 1995 patrol agents could purchase weapons from the agency list of approved authorized personal weapons for duty carry. This list included the Glock Models 17 and 19 pistols in 9 mm, the SIG Sauer P220 pistol in .45 ACP caliber, the Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver, and the Smith & Wesson Model 19/66 .357 Magnum revolver. The Border Patrol adopted the Beretta Model 96D, a .40 S&W caliber semi-automatic pistol (modified for double-action only) (with 11-round capacity magazines) as its duty issue sidearm in 1995. The .40 S&W caliber jacketed hollow-point cartridge was adopted because of its excellent "stopping power" and its superior ballistic characteristics over the 9 mm cartridge. In late 2006 the H&K P2000 pistol was adopted as the Border Patrol's primary duty sidearm. The H&K Model USP compact pistol, H&K Model P2000SK (sub-compact) and Beretta M96D .40 S&W caliber pistols are authorized as secondary sidearms.

On April 9, 2019, CBP announced that the U.S. Border Patrol would transition from the .40 caliber H&K P2000 to an unnamed 9-millimeter Glock pistol, by the end of fiscal year 2021.[44] It has since been revealed that the three Glock handguns that are to be issued to CBP officers and agents are the model G26, model G19, and the specifically manufactured for CBP model G47.[45]

Patrolling a tunnel in Nogales, Arizona

Like many other law enforcement agencies, the 12 gauge Remington Model 870 is the standard pump-action shotgun. The Border Patrol issue Model 870 has been modified by Scattergun Technologies to Border Patrol specifications including: a 14-inch barrel, a five-shot capacity magazine, a composite stock with pistol grip, and night sights with a tactical "ghost-ring" rear sight. The old Border Patrol "anti-bandit" units used to use 12-gauge, semi-automatic shotguns with sawed-off barrels. This weapon had the designated name of a "Sidewinder". The USBP anti-bandit units were decommissioned in the late 1980s.

Border Patrol agents also commonly carry the .223 caliber Colt M4 Carbine (specifically, the updated M4A1) and the H&K UMP .40 caliber submachine gun. The .308 caliber M14 rifle is used for ceremonial purposes and by agents who are qualified with the rifle and BORTAC.

As a less than lethal option, the Border Patrol uses the FN 303 launcher. The FN 303 fires plastic pellet balls containing OC (oleoresin capsicum) pepper dust. The plastic pellet balls burst on impact spraying the suspect with OC pepper dust and also acts as impact projectiles. The Border Patrol also issues its agents OC pepper spray canisters, tasers and a collapsible/telescopic (or telescoping) steel police baton.

Patrolling the Rio Grande in an airboat at Laredo, Texas, 2013

Helicopter and boats

A USBP horse patrol in southern Texas

Unlike in many other law enforcement agencies in the United States, the Border Patrol operates over 10,000 SUVs and pickup trucks, which are known for their capabilities to move around in any sort of terrain. These vehicles may have individual revolving lights (strobes or LEDs) and/or light bars and sirens and/or have their bumpers removed or have off-road suspension and tires. An extensive modernization drive has ensured that these vehicles are equipped with wireless sets in communication with a central control room. Border Patrol vehicles may also have equipment such as emergency first aid kits. Some sectors make use of sedans like the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor or the Dodge Charger as patrol cars or high speed "interceptors" on highways. The U.S. Border Patrol has approximately 2,000 sedans. The Border Patrol also operates all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and small boats in riverine environments.

In 2005, all Border Patrol and ICE aircraft operations were combined under CBP's Office of Air and Marine. All CBP vessel operations within the Customs Waters and on the high seas are conducted by Marine Interdiction Agents of the Office of Air and Marine.

Color schemes of Border Patrol vehicles are either a long green stripe running the length of the vehicle (older vehicles) or a broad green diagonal stripe (newer vehicles) on the door. Most Border Patrol vehicles are painted predominantly white. During the 1960s to mid-1980s Border Patrol vehicles were painted a light green.

The Border Patrol also extensively uses horses for remote area patrols. As of 2005, the U.S. Border Patrol has 205 horses. Most are employed along the Mexico–United States border. In Arizona, these animals are fed special processed feed pellets so that their wastes do not spread non-native plants in the national parks and wildlife areas they patrol.[46]

Official data released under the Freedom of Information Act shows that between 2005 and 2017, the federal government paid out more than $60,000,000 in legal settlements of cases in which border agents were involved in deaths, driving injuries, alleged assaults, and wrongful detention.[1]

Various civil activist and human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, have reported on abuses of illegal aliens by Border Patrol agents, and about a pattern of inaction on reports of abuses:

• According to the ACLU of Texas, between 2010 and December 13, 2021, there were 46 migrant deaths while in the custody of the Border Patrol, and 68 deaths as a result of Border Patrol-involved car chases.[52]
• In October 2021 Human Rights Watch released reports by U.S. asylum officers of over 160 reports of mistreatment by Border Patrol agents. In some cases the asylum officers apologized to the migrants for the treatment they had received from the Border Patrol. According to Clara Long, associate director of Human Rights Watch, "The documents make clear that reports of grievous C.B.P. [Customs and Border Protection] abuses—physical and sexual assaults, abusive detention conditions and violations of due process—are an open secret within D.H.S. [Department of Homeland Security]. They paint a picture of D.H.S. as an agency that appears to have normalized shocking abuses at the U.S. border."[53][54]
• In September 2021, while mounted Border Patrol agents in Del Rio, Texas, responded to an influx of Haitian refugees crossing the Mexico–United States border, a photograph was captured of an agent using his bridle reins to control his horse, after a migrant had grabbed the horse's halter. Some media outlets mistakenly alleged the photograph showed the agent whipping the migrant. US President Joe Biden said, "To see people treated like they did, horses barely running over, people being strapped. It's outrageous. I promise you those people will pay. There will be an investigation underway now, and there will be consequences. There will be consequences."[55][56] The photographer, when interviewed, said he did not see any whipping.[57]
• In the year Sept. 2018–Sept. 2019, ten aliens died in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol or its parent agency.[5]
• In a practice scaled back under President Obama but expanded under President Trump,[58][59] at some Greyhound bus stations and along certain routes, agents from United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and United States Border Patrol have been known to stop and interrogate passengers. While DHS, ICE, and US Border Patrol Agents are legally allowed to interrogate passengers within 100 air miles of the borders of the United States, according to the ACLU and some legal experts, without a warrant, United States Border Patrol agents need the explicit consent of Greyhound to be on Greyhound property, including their buses.[60] On June 7, 2018, a bus travelling from Bakersfield, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, was stopped and boarded by United States Border Patrol agents at an agricultural checkpoint near the Nevada state line. A passenger recognized that the agents of the United States Border Patrol lacked authorization to conduct their interrogations because they were not within 100 air miles of a U.S. border. After a short argument with the passenger who alerted everybody, the United States Border Patrol agents left the bus.[61] Later, the passenger who had argued with the Border Patrol agents posted an online petition on change.org titled "Greyhound: Stop endangering migrants" as a warning for passengers against these unauthorised searches. The online petition has gathered over 60,934 signatures worldwide. An online petition on the ACLU web site, titled "Greyhound: Stop Throwing Passengers Under the BUS", gathered 111,895 signatures as of 2019.[62] On February 21, 2020, Greyhound, which faced a lawsuit in California alleging that it violated consumer protection laws by facilitating raids,[59] adopted a policy of refusing unwarranted inspections, and said it would provide training on the issue to its employes. A memo addressed to all chief patrol agents and signed by then-Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost said agents can't board private buses without consent from bus companies.[58]
• In 2018, activists from No More Deaths released videos showing Border Patrol agents destroying water and food supplies left for migrants.[63] Within days, eight members of No More Deaths were arrested and charged with various crimes.[64] None of the charges has led to a conviction.[65][66] In the most serious case, the felony charges against Scott Daniels, a jury was unable to reach a verdict;[67] upon retrial he was acquitted.[68]
• In 2014, the American Immigration Council published No Action Taken: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse. A Freedom of Information request produced 809 complaints of alleged abuse by Border Patrol agents between 2009 and 2012. The largest number of complaints were for “physical abuse” (40 percent of all cases), followed by “excessive use of force” (38 percent). 40% of the cases were unresolved as of the time the data was received. Of those that had been decided, in 97% of the cases no action was taken. "There is a clear need for a stronger system of incentives (both positive and negative) for Border Patrol agents (and all CBP officers) to obey the law, respect legal rights, and refrain from abusive conduct."[69]
• Between 2010 and 2011 alleged excessive use of force by Border Patrol and Field Operations agents led to the death of six Mexican citizens. A PBS report, Crossing the Line, released in July 2012, profiled the case of Hernández-Rojas who died after being beaten and while in custody of the USBP, ICE, and CBP in May 2010.[70][71] In 2012, in a letter to President Obama posted on the website of the Washington Office on Latin America, 118 civil society organizations criticized the Border Patrol for failing to thoroughly investigate the incident and stated that the Border Patrol "is operating with very little transparency and virtual impunity, especially in the southern border region where Border Patrol and other CBP agents regularly violate the human and civil rights of those who call the border region home."[72]
• From 2008 to 2011, the Arizona organization No More Deaths interviewed nearly 13,000 illegal aliens who had been in Border Patrol custody, in the Arizona border towns of Naco, Nogales, and Agua Prieta. Their report, A Culture of Cruelty, documents alleged abuses including denial of or insufficient water and food; failure to provide medical treatment; verbal, physical and psychological abuse; separation of family members; and dangerous repatriation practices. In February 2012, Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher stated in congressional testimony that the Border Patrol takes allegations of abuse seriously.[73] However, No More Deaths testified before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in March 2012 and stated that in spite of raising their concerns for several years, "the agency has taken the position that such abuses simply do not occur."[70]
• In 2006, Jesus A. Trevino reported on Border Patrol abuses in an article published in the Houston Journal of International Law, with a request to create an independent review commission to oversee the actions of the Border Patrol. Creating such review board, he said, would make the American public aware of the "serious problem of abuse that exists at the border by making this review process public" and that "illegal immigrants deserve the same constitutionally-mandated humane treatment of citizens and legal residents".[74]
• In 1998, Amnesty International investigated allegations of ill-treatment and brutality by officers of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and particularly the Border Patrol. Their report said they found indications of human rights violations during 1996, 1997, and early 1998.[75]
• An article in Social Justice by Michael Huspek, Leticia Jimenez, Roberto Martinez (1998) cites that in December 1997, John Case, head of the INS Office of Internal Audit, announced at a press conference that public complaints to the INS had risen 29% from 1996, with the "vast majority" of complaints emanating from the southwest border region, but that of the 2,300 cases, the 243 cases of serious allegations of abuse were down in 1997. These serious cases are considered to be distinct from less serious complaints, such as "verbal abuse, discrimination, extended detention without cause."[76]

In February 2005, Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were involved in an incident while pursuing a van in Fabens, Texas. The driver, later identified as Aldrete Davila, was shot by Agent Ramos during a scuffle. Davila escaped back into Mexico, and the agents discovered that the van contained a million dollars worth of marijuana (about 750 pounds). None of the agents at the scene orally reported the shooting, including two supervisors: Robert Arnold, first-line Supervisor and Jonathan Richards, a higher ranking Field Operations Supervisor.[77][78] Ramos and Compean were charged with multiple crimes. Ramos was convicted of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and a civil rights violation.[79] Compeán was found guilty on 11 counts, including discharging a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, which by itself carries a federally mandated 10-year minimum sentence. Without that charge, both agents involved would have received far shorter sentences. Ramos was sentenced to 11 years and a day in prison and Compean to 12 years.[80] Jonathan Richards was promoted to the Patrol Agent in Charge of the Santa Teresa, New Mexico Border Patrol Station soon after the incident.[81] On January 19, 2009, President Bush commuted the sentences of both Ramos and Compean, effectively ending their prison term on March 20, 2009,[82] and they were released on February 17, 2009.[83] The case generated widely differing opinion among various commentators and advocacy groups: civil libertarians asserted the agents used illegal and excessive force, while advocates of tighter border control defended the agents actions.[84]

On May 30, 2010, Anastasio Hernandez-Rojas died of a heart attack while in the custody of United States Border Patrol (USBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and agents and officers at the San Diego–Tijuana border.[85][71] He was beaten and then shocked by tasers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry,[85][71] within view of many bystanders with cameras on the busy pedestrian bridge.[85] Although the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation concluded on November 6, 2015, that Hernández-Rojas died of a heart attack, an offer of a million-dollar settlement was made to his family.[71] None of the agents or officers involved were fired or disciplined for excessive use of force.[71] In February 2017, his common-law wife and five children accepted the settlement.[86] Hernández-Rojas's death was profiled in a 2012 PBS report called Crossing the Line,[70] in Nonny de la Peña's 2013 five-minute-long virtual reality called Use of Force,[87] and in a 2014 American Civil Liberties Union report.[88]

Sergio Adrian Hernandez was a teenager who was shot once and killed on June 7, 2010 by Border Patrol agents under a bridge crossing between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.[89]

Border Patrol agents claimed that there was a mob that was throwing stones at them.[89] They also claimed that Hernandez was trying to cross the U.S. border illegally and that he had already tried to do so in the past. For his involvement in the incident, Border Patrol agent Jesus Mesa, Jr., invoked qualified official immunity in his defense.[90]

On June 10, Mexican President Felipe Calderón called on the United States to launch a "thorough, impartial" probe into the deaths of two Mexican nationals, including the 14-year-old Hernandez, at the hands of U.S. border police: "I demand the United States government conduct a thorough, impartial...investigation, concluding with an establishment of the facts and punishment of the culprits."[91]

On June 12, 2010 the television network Univision aired cellphone video footage of the incident, after which Mexican legislators called unsuccessfully for the extradition of the officer accused of the shooting.[92][93]

As the Washington Office on Latin America's Border Fact Check site points out, a similar incident occurred in October 2012 when 16-year-old José Antonio Elena Rodríguez was killed in downtown Nogales, Mexico, when a Border Patrol Agent, Lonnie Swartz, opened fire at a group of people allegedly throwing rocks at him; Rodriguez was shot seven times in the back. WOLA and other human rights organizations assert that "law enforcement experience offers a series of non-lethal responses to rock throwing incidents along the U.S.-Mexico border," such as pepper ball launchers.[94] In September 2015, Swartz was indicted on the charge of second-degree murder.[95] He was acquitted of that charge, and was subsequently acquitted at a second trial on manslaughter charges. The victim's family has filed a civil suit against Swartz.[96]

Matthew Bowen, a Border Patrol agent stationed in Nogales, Arizona, was indicted in June, 2018, for deliberately hitting and knocking down a migrant, Antolín López Aguilar, with his vehicle, and then lying about it;[97] some reports say he ran over the migrant.[96] At that time he was suspended without pay. Just before his trial, he accepted a plea deal in which he admitted having deliberately run over the migrant, agreed to resign from the Border Patrol, and pled guilty to the misdemeanor of violating the rights of this migrant. The charge of lying on a report was dropped.[96] He was sentenced to three years of supervised probation, together with 150 hours of community service and restitution to the victim for his medical expenses and lost income. The judge sentencing him said that he believed this was a harsher sentence than six months in jail; he would not be able to put the incident immediately behind him.[98]

On November 25, 2013, the San Diego Tribune reported that 100 aliens who tried to cross the border illegally near the San Ysidro port were pepper-sprayed and tear-gassed after throwing bottles and rocks at border patrol agents.[99] A similar incident was reported in November 2018.[100]

According to James Tomchek, formerly a senior Border Patrol official, the corruption in Customs and Border Patrol exceeds that of any other federal law enforcement agency. Between 2005 and 2017, more than 140 Customs and Border Patrol agents were arrested or convicted on corruption charges.[101]

Incidences of corruption in the U.S. Border Patrol include:

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave Accenture Federal Services a $297 million contract in 2017 to hire 7,500 people over five years. An audit by the Department of Homeland Security found that, as of Oct. 1, 2018, Accenture had already been paid $13.6 million but had only hired two people.[102]
• Pablo Sergio Barry, an agent charged with one count of harboring an illegal alien (8 U.S.C. § 1324),[103] three counts of false statements, and two counts of making a false document.[104] He pleaded guilty.[105]
• Christopher E. Bernis, an agent indicted on a charge of harboring an illegal alien for nine months while employed as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent.[106]
• Jose De Jesus Ruiz, an agent whose girlfriend was an illegal alien. He was put on administrative leave pending an investigation.[106]
• Oscar Antonio Ortiz, an illegal alien[107] who used a fake birth certificate to get into the Border Patrol. He admitted to smuggling more than 100 illegal aliens into the U.S., some of them in his government truck.[108] He was charged with conspiring with another agent to smuggle aliens.
• An unidentified patrol agent who was recorded on a wiretap stating that he helped to smuggle 30 to 50 aliens at a time.[107]

In 2019, ProPublica revealed the existence of a 3-year-old group on Facebook with 9,500 members, in which Border Patrol agents "joke about migrant deaths and post sexist memes". Latina lawmakers about to visit them were called "scum buckets" and "hoes".[97][3][109] A posting said that agents should "throw a burrito at these bitches [members of Congress]."[3] Another showed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a migrant, titled "Lucky Illegal Immigrant Glory Hole Special Starring AOC."[3][110] (Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat who represents El Paso, had previously compared Border Patrol camps for detainees with Nazi concentration camps.)[111]

After a year of investigation, no one has been publicly identified as having made the offensive posts, nor has anyone been disciplined, according to available information. Members of Congress complained that the CBP leadership was uncooperative and "obstructing a Congressional investigation".[112]

The "group where agents posted sexist and callous references to migrants and the politicians who support them reinforced the perception that agents often view the vulnerable people in their care with frustration and contempt." Carla Provost, at the time head of the agency, was among them; she retired in 2020.[5]

• Lines and Shadows, by Joseph Wambaugh.
• Border Patrol, by Alvin Edward Moore.
• Bleeding Borders, by Steve Arthur Timper
• The Border Patrol, by Deborah Wells Salter.
• EWI: Entry Without Inspection, by Fortuna Testarona Valiente.
• Tracks in the Sand: A Tale of the Border Patrol, by Kent E Lundgren.
• On The Line: Inside the U.S. Border Patrol, by Alex Pacheco and Erich Krauss.
• Patrolling Chaos: The U.S. Border Patrol in Deep South Texas, by Robert Lee Maril.
• The U.S. Border Patrol: Guarding the Nation, by Connie Collwell Miller.
• My Border Patrol Diary: Laredo, Texas, by Dale Squint.
• Holding the Line: War Stories of the U.S. Border Patrol, by Gerald Schumacher.
• The Border Patrol Ate My Dust, by Alicia Alarcon, Ethriam Cash Brammer, and Ethriam Cash Brammer de Gonzales.
• The Border: Exploring the U.S.-Mexican Divide, by David J. Danelo.
• Beat The Border: An Insider's Guide to How the U.S. Border Works and How to Beat It, by Ned Beaumont.
• West of the Moon: A Border Patrol Agent's Tale, by D.B. Prehoda.
• The Journey: U.S. Border Patrol & the Solution to the Illegal Alien Problem, by Donald R. Coppock.
• Border Patrol: With the U.S. Immigration Service on the Mexican boundary, 1910–54, by Clifford Alan Perkins.
• Border Patrol: How U.S. Agents Protect Our Borders from Illegal Entry, by Carroll B. Colby.
• In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security, by Tom Tancredo.
• Border Songs, by Jim Lynch.
• Crossing the Wire, by Will Hobbs.

• Border Patrolman, a 1936 film in which Border Patrolman Bob Wallace, played by George O'Brien, resigns in protest after being humiliated by the spoiled granddaughter of a millionaire.
• Border Patrol, a 1943 film starring William C. Boyd, Andy Clyde, George Reeves, and Robert Mitchum.
• Borderline, a 1950 film noir starring Fred MacMurray about drug smuggling across the Mexico-U.S. border.
• Border Patrol, a 1959 television series starring Richard Webb as the fictitious deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol.
• Borderline, a 1980 movie starring Charles Bronson about a Border Patrol Agent in charge of a station located in the hills southeast of San Diego, near the Mexico-U.S. border. Bronson's character and the agents under his command pursue and apprehend a violent human trafficker/smuggler played by Ed Harris who murdered a veteran patrol agent, portrayed by Wilford Brimley, who had intercepted the smuggler one evening bringing in a shipment of illegal aliens across the border. Their investigation leads to the breaking up of the vicious smuggling operation run by Harris's character.
• Border Cop, a 1980 film starring Telly Savalas.
• The Border, a 1982 film starring Jack Nicholson as a patrol agent working on the Mexico-U.S. border.
• El Norte, a 1983 film about the plight of Central American Indian peasants traveling to the Mexico-U.S. border.
• The 1983 movie Lone Wolf McQuade deals with smuggling and criminals in various parts of Texas including the Mexico-U.S. border.
• Flashpoint, a 1984 film starring Kris Kristofferson, Treat Williams, Rip Torn, and Kurtwood Smith.
• Last Man Standing, a 1996 film starring Bruce Willis as a professional gunman and Ken Jenkins as Texas Ranger Captain Tom Pickett who is investigating the murder of an unnamed patrol inspector (played by Larry Holt) in the town where Willis's character is working.
• Traffic (2003 film), a movie featuring the US Mexico border.
• Men in Black, a 1997 science fiction comedy action film starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The Border Patrol is portrayed as Immigration Inspectors in an unflattering portrayal.
• The Gatekeeper, a 2002 film by John Carlos Frey about the struggles of aliens at the Mexico-U.S. border.
• The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, a 2005 film by Tommy Lee Jones about the accidental killing of an illegal Mexican alien by a Border Patrol Agent.
• The Shepherd: Border Patrol, a 2007 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
• Linewatch, a 2008 film starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., as a Border Patrol agent defending his family from a group of Los Angeles gang members involved in narcotics importation.
• Hunt to Kill, A 2010 film starring Stone Cold Steve Austin and Eric Roberts as U.S. Border Patrol Agents.

• Border Patrol: American's Gatekeepers, by A&E Network with former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
• Investigative Reports: Border Patrol: America's Gatekeepers, by A+E Networks Investigates.
• History the Enforcers: Border Patrol, by the History Channel.
• Border Wars, a "reality" television program produced by the National Geographic Channel.
• Run For Your Life, a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary about the dangers faced by young Hondurans aboard a freight train headed to the Mexico-U.S. border, where they will seek illegal entry.
• Under Siege: America's Northern Border by Discovery Channel. A 2013 documentary about the efforts and difficulties of agents to prevent illegal cross-border activities in the Detroit, Michigan, area.
• The Second Cooler, directed by Ellin Jimmerson, narrated by Martin Sheen, produced by the Huntsville Immigration Initiative, LLC. A migrant justice documentary which explores major themes of unauthorized migration to the US including NAFTA and major implications including border militarization and thousands of migrant deaths.
• Immigration Nation, a Netflix series (2019). According to Netflix, the series "highlights cruelty in the immigration system."[3][127]
• Missing in Brooks County is a 2021 feature-length documentary focused on the Border Patrol's interior checkpoint in Brooks County, Texas.