Border Patrol

Essay by adanr262046 June 2006

download word file, 3 pages 5.0

The U.S. Border Patrol is the organization that polices the entry of illegal immigrants into our country. The official mission of the United States Border patrol is to protect the boundaries of the United States by preventing illegal entry, and by detecting, interdicting, and apprehending illegal aliens, smugglers, and contraband. Today, the United States Border Patrol consists of 21 sectors. Each sector is headed by a chief patrol agent. There are 145 stations located throughout the continental United States, and in Puerto Rico. The Border Patrol controls the border by land, sea, and air. The Border Patrol has jurisdiction across all United States borders and at least 25 miles off the border. The Border Patrol agents are responsible to check factories for illegal workers. As of September of 1995, the Border Patrol had 530 agents.

The Border Patrol's efforts may be sufficient but many people believe that there are many problems in the methods of the Border Patrol.

First, many people think that all of the equipment is costing the taxpayers too much. An estimation by TIME magazine states that in California alone, $400 million is spent on healthcare for illegal immigrants. CNN says that the care of illegal immigrants in one hospital in Jacksonville, Florida costs taxpayers $44.5 million. A Federal Government estimate says that $1.6 billion dollars is spent on the education of illegal immigrants each year in California alone. Just think of how much money is spent on illegal immigrants across the country. Now this is just the cost of the immigrants that get through the border patrol. These costs could be greatly lowered if the Border Patrol would do its job. Let alone the cost of the illegal immigrants that manage to get through the Border Patrol, the Border Patrol alone is costing plenty. In an...