The number of issues concerning our borders have been on the rise. These issues can range any where from illegal immigration all the way to murder. Now since we live in a border city, these problems can affect the quality of living for its residences. To ensure that it doesn't, we have an agency called the Border Patrol.
The El Paso Border Patrol sector was launched on July 1, 1924 through the Immigration Act (CBP.gov). When it was first established, the El Paso sector was relatively small only having 25 “Patrol Inspectors” and just reaching New Mexico and a few other southwestern counties (CBP.gov). As problems started to arise, they decided to expand making it one out of nine sectors for the southwestern region and having as many as 2,400 employees (CBP.gov).When started, their main focus was on stopping illegal immigration and liquor smuggling into the United States. Through out the years, their focus has not really changed. They still are trying to prevent illegal immigration, as well as, prevent drug trafficking and ensuring that our neighboring border’s problems do not spill over to us. The chief agent of this El Paso bureau is Victor M. Manjarrez Jr (CBP.gov). His purpose is to over see that everyone is doing their job correctly, and that operations are running according to plan. This ensures the safety of the agents and the citizens. Border Patrol can be related to any law enforcement agency. Just as the El Paso Police Department works to make sure El Paso’s streets are safe, the Border Patrol works to make sure our borders are safe.
The Border Patrol likes to inform their residence of current events occurring on the border; as well as, recruitment information for individuals interested in becoming an agent. They will use various forms of communication to accomplish this task. One way they inform the people of incidents on our border is through newspapers and television.They broadcast this, so they can keep people informed on border incidents and its over all safety. The El Paso Border Patrol will also advertise themselves through various forms of communication. They have billboards, commercials, websites, and brochures all dedicated to informing people about what they do. The advertisements they use are always designed to show the exciting and interesting aspects of the job. This approach is used to catch the attention of people in hopes of convincing them to join the force. The El Paso Border Patrol also maintains a website that is not as exciting as their billboards or commercials but is more informative in nature. This website informs people on the history of our sector, the commanding agents, where the stations are located, current international operations, and links to websites related to employment. The website is well organized and easy to navigate, thus making it simple to locate what you are needing. These different types of discourses are essential for creating awareness of their purpose, current challenges and promoting themselves to encourage others to get involved. All of these objectives work to promote safety along our border.
