Range Rovers: U.S. Border Patrol America's first line of defense

by Caroline Basile, editor-in-chief

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of articles about the United States Border Patrol. A writer and a photographer for the Plainsman Press visited with the Border Patrol on Aug. 21-23.

CANDELARIA — Nearly 60 miles from the Marfa Sector headquarters, just outside of the small town of Candelaria, two United States Border Patrol agents survey the rough and rigid terrain with their watchful eyes for illegal aliens.

A small house, which includes the basic necessities the agents need, such as a kitchen, a bathroom and two beds, sits a top a hill from which they can see the small Mexican community of San Antonio del Bravo, known for its reputation of high illegal narcotics activity, according to U.S. Border Patrol sources.

There are two Border Patrol agents stationed at the house for a one-week period.  During one week in August, agents Christian Passalacqua, of Puerto Rico, and Demetrius McNeil, of Philadelphia, Penn, were staying at the house.

From the house in Candelaria, any type of backup from another agent is at least two hours away back at the Marfa Sector Headquarters.

"The work area in this area can get hectic and very rough sometimes," Passalacqua said of staying in the rocky environment. "You have to make sure to keep in contact with your partners, fellow agents, especially if there is a chase or you are monitoring activity."

Staying at the house at Candelaria is meant to be used as a training exercise for agents to get to know the area and the terrain. It is voluntary and not mandatory.

"It makes you a stronger and a better agent if you know where everything is at," McNeil, a former member of the United States Army says. "Knowledge is nine-tenths of the game, and if you know the area when another agent calls for help, you can get to them and help as quickly as possible."

Agents monitor a vast area of mountainous terrain, watching for any signs of activity, including illegal aliens attempting to cross the rough and steep mountains to enter the United States. If any aliens are spotted, the agents must act quickly to stop them.

"One of the things we try to do the best is not to get tunnel vision," says Dan Harris, assistant chief patrol agent for the Marfa Sector. "You've got to focus on not just what's going on right in front of you, but also who is around you helping you and what they're doing. People don't run for the sake of running. They are running for a reason, and we try to end a chase as fast as we can.”

With such a large area to cover, agents are spread throughout the region, with the unknown in the distance.

"It can get quite boring and lonely when you're out here by yourself," Agent Harris says. “But it is definitely worth the effort in the end.” 

Both Passalacqua and McNeil agreed that by staying at Candelaria, they gain the experience in the area to help determine the routes that the illegal aliens take to enter the country.

“Knowing the area, you can know shortcuts that won't delay your time in finding someone on the run," said Passalacqua, who is in his second year with the U.S. Border Patrol. "You also have to think like them and think what way they would take and then follow it.  They don't know where our equipment sensors are. But, they catch on quick and change their route, and you have to adapt and change as they change."

At the Border Patrol checkpoint located just outside of Marfa, a group of agents wait, checking cars passing through into the state. A dog from a K-9 unit stands with an agent, sniffing out whether there may be something of interest.

At the check point, cameras monitor the entire area, recording every second. Agents can keep a watchful eye inside as well as outside.

“We check their documents, making sure everything is in order," says Sam Ferguson, a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol. "If there is a reason that vehicle needs to be searched, the car would be moved to another area at the check point and would then be searched."

According to Ferguson, agents employ different techniques to search for anything suspicious. Those techniques often include anything from a simple K-9 search to even glancing inside a gas tank with a long camera with a light attached to the end to see if a compartment has been built inside the gas tank to smuggle marijuana or other substances.

The agents at the Marfa Sector have seen some very creative techniques to try and smuggle marijuana and other contraband into the United States. Ferguson said smugglers have attempted to hide marijuana inside the lining of tires, in cans of jalapenos, and even inside the metal of the bed of a pick-up truck.

"People will stop at nothing and do whatever they can to get something across," Ferguson added. "We'll do whatever we can to stop it from getting to its destination."

The idea of a fence along the United States border with  Mexico has been the topic of much political discussion recently. For those in the U.S. Border Patrol, it is not a bad idea.

“We are for any kind of barrier, in the right place,” said Bill Brooks, public affairs officer for the U.S. Border Patrol Marfa Sector. “A wall totally along the border makes no sense, especially in this area. It is needed in areas that have urban-to-urban contact with Mexico, which is where we are proposing to put it so that we can steer the people to an area of our choosing. We are for it, if it makes operational sense.”

Brooks also commented that the idea of a barricade along the border is not a new idea. 

“We have had fences at the border for years,” Brooks says. “This isn't a new concept. We positively must gain control of our borders. We need to know who is crossing and what their purpose is.  We need the technology, the agents and infrastructure [the wall], to help.”

All Photos by Britni Palomino/Plainsman Press