About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Federal Law Enforcement / Public Safety (Customs and Border Protection).

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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Key Responsibilities

Confidential Client is hiring entry-level Border Patrol Agents for full-time, career federal law enforcement roles. As an entry-level Border Patrol Agent (BPA), you will train at an academy and join a team responsible for safeguarding borders and deterring illicit activity.

• Detect, question, and inspect persons and belongings to determine citizenship or violations of immigration and customs laws.
• Prevent and apprehend undocumented noncitizens and smugglers using surveillance (including nighttime infrared scopes) and field techniques.
• Interpret and follow tracks, marks, and other physical evidence of illegal entry.
• Conduct farm checks, building checks, traffic checks, city patrols, and transportation checks.
• Patrol international boundaries and coastal waterways using vehicles, horses, vessels, off-road vehicles, ATVs, snowmobiles, and motorcycles.
• Use sound judgment in high-pressure situations; make arrests after required training.

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Salary & Benefits

• Annual base salary for newly appointed BPAs (grade-dependent): $51,632 – $92,912 per year (GL-5 / GL-7).
• Estimated typical pay shown on some sources: approximately $89,238 per year (varies by location and grade).
• Recruitment incentive: up to $20,000 (first $10,000 paid after successful completion of the academy; remaining $10,000 for accepting a prioritized location).
• Retention incentive: may qualify for up to $40,000 distributed over the first four years.
• Eligible federal benefits include health and dental insurance, generous annual and sick leave, and participation in the Thrift Savings Plan (retirement savings).

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Preferred Locations & Duty Stations

Duty assignments may include Southwest Border prioritized locations and other mission-critical stations. Relocation may be required; duty assignment is based on operational needs at time of offer.

Representative duty locations include (non-exhaustive):

• Big Bend Sector: Presidio, Van Horn, Sanderson, Sierra Blanca, Marfa, Alpine
• Del Rio Sector: Del Rio, Brackettville, Comstock, Eagle Pass, Carrizo Springs, Uvalde
• El Paso Sector: Alamogordo, Clint, Deming, El Paso, Lordsburg, Santa Teresa, Ysleta
• El Centro Sector: El Centro, Indio, Calexico
• Tucson Sector: Ajo, Tucson, Nogales, Douglas, Casa Grande, Willcox
• Yuma Sector: Blythe, Yuma, Wellton
  (Additional national sector locations and small stations also used.)

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Qualifications

You may qualify at different grade levels depending on experience and education:

GL-5 (Entry-level) — one of the following

• One year of general work experience demonstrating decision-making, composure under stress, ability to learn regulations/methods, and information-gathering skills; OR
• A bachelor’s degree (four-year) from an accredited college or university; OR
• A combination of education and experience (evaluated from resume and transcripts).

GL-7 — one of the following

• One year of specialized experience showing the ability to: use firearms with sound judgment; deal effectively and courteously with people in law enforcement contexts; rapidly analyze information and make prompt decisions (examples: criminal code enforcement, corrections, security, military police). OR
• A bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement or one year graduate-level study in a related field; OR
• A combination of experience and education (evaluated from resume and transcripts).

Other mandatory requirements:

• U.S. citizenship.
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years.
• Age limitation: Applicants must be referred before their 40th birthday per law enforcement retirement provisions (some exceptions for prior federal civilian LEO service or veterans’ preference).
• Veterans may be eligible for special hiring authorities (e.g., VRA) and some age restrictions may not apply.
• After hire, you will attend approximately six months of intensive training at the Border Patrol Academy (immigration and nationality law, driver training, firearms, physical techniques, operations).
• Border Patrol work requires the ability to speak and read English; Confidential Client will provide training to develop Spanish proficiency as needed.

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Career Progression & Working Conditions

• This is a career-ladder position: GL-5 → GL-7 → GL-9 → GS-11 → GS-12. You may be promoted to the next grade after completing 52 weeks at each step without reapplying.
• Duty location influences locality pay; some assignments include additional locality pay (federal LEO locality rates may increase base pay up to approximately an added 25% in certain locations).
• Role involves fieldwork in varied environments, potential exposure to physically demanding and high-stress situations, irregular hours, and travel/relocation as operational needs require.

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Required Disclosures

This posting contains a published pay range and incentive details pulled from the source announcement. If you are listing this job in a state that requires additional pay transparency disclosures, ensure your state-specific posting includes the salary range and a description of how incentives are paid.

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind.
To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.