Border Patrol Agent's pay and hours facing a sudden and dramatic 40% cut
Public Comments (8,427)
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Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Nogales, AZ writes:
Without these dedicated women and men who put their lives on the line every day we will be without the security they have worked to provide to us. -
Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Green Valley, AZ signed.
Mar 27th, 2013Someone from El Paso, TX signed.
Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Santa Teresa, NM signed.
Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Lewiston, NY writes:
An open letter to President Obama, Members of Congress, and my Fellow Americans: My name is George DeBruin. I am a United States Border Patrol Agent. On April 1st, I will be celebrating my 22nd anniversary of federal service, having originally entered on duty with the Border Patrol in Imperial Beach, California in 1991. I also served as an Immigration Inspector for 4 years in Northern Minnesota, before returning to the Border Patrol as an agent in Niagara Falls, New York in 2001. Back then, we fell under the now defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service under the Department of Justice. Nowadays, we are part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Thanks to the fools who are currently ?managing? CBP, the fact that my anniversary falls on April Fools Day is particularly pertinent and the day very bittersweet. The mismanagement (financial and otherwise) of CBP is well documented and was in place long before the current manmade and wholly avoidable ?crisis? known as ?sequestration?. While other federal agencies took measures to get their financial house in order with the handwriting on the wall, CBP did nothing. For instance, numerous agencies offered early retirements as a way to right the financial ship in light of the coming storm while CBP stood idly by, taking virtually no proactive action whatsoever. Even worse, they continued recklessly spending on such things as upgrading the pay scale of certain management positions, and conducting Oral Hiring Boards to facilitate the hiring of additional agents, all while they didn?t have the budget to meet the current payroll. Ultimately, when the can of sequestration could be kicked no further down the road, CBP attempted to right their egregious wrongs by saddling Border Patrol Agents with a 35-40% pay cut across the board. No other federal employees were asked to shoulder a burden even remotely that massive. The cuts were to come via furloughing all agents for 14 days coupled with a de-certification of Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUO). Lacking understanding of how preventable this mess all really was and of the grave implications of the cuts, the uninformed and uninitiated may believe that being ?laid off? for one day a pay period and not being allowed to work ?overtime? sounds fairly reasonable?the truth is however, that such actions would have a devastating impact on border security as well as Border Patrol Agents and their families. One of the biggest misconceptions is with the very unfortunately named AUO. Given that the ?O? in AUO is ?overtime? the uniformed and uninitiated believe it functions the same as any other type of overtime. Not true. Border Patrol Agents (and certain other federal employees) have been receiving AUO as a part of their base pay for nearly 40 years. In 1974, recognizing the nature of our positions and the inherent responsibilities that prevent us from punching the clock and going hoREPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelMar 27th, 2013Someone from Jamestown, NY signed.
Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Lordsburg, NM signed.
Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Tucson, AZ signed.
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Mar 27th, 2013Someone from El Paso, TX signed.
Mar 27th, 2013Someone from San Antonio, TX writes:
Why is it the men and women that serve and risk their lives for this nation always seem to have to sacrifice are wellbeing? We are told ?We are cutting your pay?. ?Be safe, wear your protective vest, and come home at the end of shift? all in the same speech. That?s just crazyREPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelMar 27th, 2013Someone from Tucson, AZ signed.
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Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Alamogordo, NM signed.
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Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Tucson, AZ writes:
My son is a Border Patrol Agent in Arizona. He risks his life every day to protect our nation and its borders. Is this really the way our Congress wants to treat our brave agents? I would hope not, but it looks that way. Well, I would imagine that families with Border Patrol Agents will be interested in how their representatives respond to this issue, and will vote accordingly in the next election. I know I will!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelMar 27th, 2013Someone from Silver City, NM signed.
Mar 27th, 2013Someone from Del Rio, TX writes:
Border patrol serves our country and risks their lives on a DAILY basis and you should support, not retract their pay!REPORT COMMENTS
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