U.S. wants Border Patrol agents for Iraq

Houston Chronicle ^ | Apr. 30, 2007 | Steve McVicker

[AuntB]

Firm seeks veteran officers to mentor Iraqis on immigration

The pay is tempting, but the mission is tough — helping to stop illegal immigrants from crossing a long, rugged and remote border.

But the border in question isn't between the United States and Mexico or Canada. It's in Iraq.

At a time when federal officials are stressing the need to beef up U.S. border security, the State Department has hired a firm to recruit veteran law officers who will serve as "mentors" and train Iraqis to guard their borders.

Critics of the plan acknowledge that the goal of hiring 120 officers won't seriously impair America's border security. They wonder, however, what it says about the government's priorities.

"Our Border Patrol agents are going to be saying, 'Goodbye, Arizona. Goodbye, Texas. Hello, Iraq,' " said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

DynCorp International launched the effort this month to recruit officers with border security experience. The job begins in May and lasts for one year, a spokesman for the company said.

The compensation includes more than $134,000 in salary, tax-free. There also is a $25,000 bonus for signing up in time for a May 5 training session.

A DynCorp official said the company is "not necessarily trying to raid the Border Patrol." At any rate, the loss of 120 agents would hardly be a major blow to U.S. border security efforts, since the agency has about 13,000 officers.

But the recruiting drive comes as the Border Patrol is working to fulfill a mandate from President Bush to increase its ranks to 18,000 by the end of 2008.

DynCorp spokesman Gregory Lagana said the company previously has hired officers to train Iraqi police. A State Department spokeswoman said DynCorp also recruited about 500 officers who are training police in Afghanistan.

According to its ads on the Yahoo! HotJobs Web site, DynCorp is seeking people with at least four years' experience with the Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Civilian police with immigration, customs or border experience also are candidates.

The six-figure salary will be enticing, said Krikorian, whose organization focuses on border issues.

"It would be a real loss to lose top, experienced agents and send them to Iraq," he said. "Even though (120 positions) would be a small (percentage), you can see that as one more example of Iraq's security taking priority over America's."

Stephen Biddle, a defense expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, said the mentors will need to learn how to identify prospective security officers who may be sympathetic to sectarian groups.

"Ultimately, if you are going to get an effective border patrol (in Iraq), you need both skilled people and nonsectarian people," Biddle said. "And the trouble is, outfits like DynCorp are ill-prepared to do the second. And the risk, if we're not careful, is that we're enabling the (Iraqi) border guards to be more effective sectarians."

Neither DynCorp nor the State Department could provide numbers of how many people have applied for the training jobs. Todd Fraser, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, said he isn't sure, either.

But, he said, a career as a Border Patrol agent has its own advantages, even with a starting salary of about $35,000.

"It's not something that they are going to have to figure out if they are going to be rehired next year for the same position," Fraser said.

"I don't think the majority of Border Patrol agents, who are working and dedicated to this job and the border security mission, are going to give up the law enforcement retirement they have."

The head of the border agents' labor association doesn't share Fraser's optimism about achieving the 18,000-agent hiring mark but agrees that the DynCorp recruiting effort won't have a big impact.

"The attrition rate has climbed considerably from where it was at this time last year," said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council.

Regardless of where DynCorp finds the trainers, Doris Meissner, who served as immigration commissioner under President Clinton, believes the job could be done for less.

"If the people with the expertise are already in the government, why in the world aren't these missions considered government functions, and just have the government do it?" Meissner asked.

"I would have loved to have recruited border agents (for $134,000)."

[Liberty Valance]

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