USBP: United States Border Patrol is a law enforcement agency under CBP. One of the body’s primary responsibilities is to protect the US borders, including protecting the American people and help in enhancing the nation’s economy.

According to reports from 2019, over 19,000 officers were a part of the agency, which is considered the largest in the United States.

History of US Border Patrol

The idea of establishing border control began in the 19th century when there were no officers or legal professionals to guard American borders. It was unrestricted, and there was no systematic recordkeeping for all the immigration. In 1904, US Department of Commerce and Labor members protected the border by preventing the illegal entry of immigrants. The mounted guards mainly operated out of Texas, reaching their stretch to the west of California to prevent the illegal entry of Chinese immigrants.

In 1915, an official body called mounted inspectors was authorized by Congresses with officials on horses, boats, and motorcycles to prevent the entry of immigrants into America. In 1924, an official border patrol group was announced under the Labor Appropriation Act to prevent illegal entries in the Canada-US and Mexico-US borders. According to reports from 2016, at least 50% of the members in the patrol were Latinos, and most were minorities.

US Border Patrol

Strategies and responsibilities of border patrol

In 2005, the US border Patrol updated its objectives and the goal for border patrol, which mainly comprises five main objectives:

  • Improve the quality of life of people inside the country
  • Implement smart border technology to detect any illegal activities across the US border
  • Detect and apprehend human smugglers, contraband, and drugs
  • Implement improved enforcement to detect illegal entries
  • Apprehend all the illegal weapons and terrorist entries across the border

Capabilities of the US Border Patrol

The United States Border Patrol is extended across deserts, mountains, rivers, and canyons. In recent times, the agency has implemented modern technologies and weapons like strategic location trackers, electronic sensors, and other instruments to rightly detect area’s illegal transportation of humans, weapons, and goods. They have also included the use of video monitors and night vision cameras to detect aircraft, boats, and other vehicles, illegally entering the US border from any direction.

As mentioned above, the primary activity of the patrol agency is line watch, which includes apprehension, prevention, and detection of terrorists and illegal activities in and around the cover position. They also include monitoring administrative intelligence, anti-smuggling activities, traffic observation, transportation check, city patrolling, and many others.

Marine patrol troops are located on the coastal waterways, mainly around the Caribbean, Pacific coast, Puerto Rico, and the tip of Florida. They have 130 marine crafts of different sizes, which help detect illegal activities across the US coast.


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