Border Patrol recruiting in new ways to meet goal

Pressure to hire more agents raises concern about the quality of rookies By ANTONIO OLIVO Chicago Tribune ABOUT THE APPLICANTS Since Congress authorized the U.S. Border Patrol in 2006 to nearly double its ranks to 20,000, nearly 293,000 people have applied. Below is a breakdown of the recent applicants to the U.S. Border Patrol: Race • African-American: 14% • American Indian: 1% CHICAGO — The engines were screaming adrenaline at a recent NASCAR race in Joliet, Ill., but a more unusual attraction was beckoning just outside the track. There, tucked between the Jack Daniel's whiskey tent and a booth for Red Man smokeless tobacco on the Chicagoland Speedway fairgrounds, the U.S. Border Patrol was taking the names of hundreds of revved-up job applicants. The agency's presence — complete with a white-and-green Border Patrol stock... [read full story]