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 (Customs and Border Protection).

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

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Overview

Confidential Client is hiring full-time, entry-level Border Patrol Agents (BPA) at GL-5 / GL-7 grade levels to join its federal border security mission. This career-focused role combines hands-on law enforcement work, a structured training program, competitive federal pay, and significant recruitment and retention incentives — up to $60,000 in total incentives for eligible hires.

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Salary & Benefits

• Annual base salary for newly appointed BPAs (GL-5 / GL-7): $51,632 – $92,912 per year.
• Eligible for federal benefits including health, dental, life insurance, generous annual and sick leave, and participation in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
• Locality and law-enforcement pay adjustments may apply; a fully trained BPA may be eligible for up to an additional 25% of base pay per applicable pay reform.
• Career-ladder progression: GL-5 → GL-7 → GL-9 → GS-11 → GS-12; promotions typically occur after 52 weeks at each grade level.

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Incentives

• Recruitment Incentive: Up to $20,000 for newly appointed BPAs (first $10,000 paid after successful completion of the Border Patrol Academy; remaining $10,000 for accepting a prioritized location).
• Retention Incentive: Eligible BPAs may qualify for up to $40,000 in additional incentives distributed over the first four years.
• Incentives apply when offered and accepted under program terms.

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Duty Locations

Duty assignments are based on operational needs and may require relocation. Some assignments include Southwest Border and other mission-critical stations. Example duty locations include (but are not limited to):

• Big Bend Sector: Presidio, Van Horn, Sanderson, Alpine, Sierra Blanca, Marfa
• Buffalo Sector: Wellesley Island
• Del Rio Sector: Del Rio, Brackettville, Comstock, Eagle Pass North & South, Carrizo Springs, Uvalde
• El Paso Sector: Alamogordo, Clint, Deming, El Paso, Fort Hancock, Las Cruces, Lordsburg, Santa Teresa, Ysleta
• El Centro Sector: El Centro, Indio, Calexico
• Grand Forks Sector: Pembina
• Havre Sector: Havre, Malta, Plentywood, Scobey, Sweetgrass
• Houlton Sector: Calais, Fort Fairfield, Jackman, Rangeley, Van Buren
• Laredo Sector: Laredo South, Cotulla, Hebbronville, Laredo West, Freer, Laredo North, Zapata
• Rio Grande Valley Sector: Rio Grande City, Fort Brown, McAllen, Brownsville, Falfurrias, Weslaco, Kingsville, Harlingen
• San Diego Sector: Boulevard, Brownfield, Campo, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, Murrieta, San Clemente
• Spokane Sector: Colville, Curlew, Metaline Falls, Oroville
• Swanton Sector: Beecher Falls, Burke, Champlain, Newport, Richford
• Tucson Sector: Ajo, Tucson, Nogales, Douglas, Brian A Terry, Sonoita, Casa Grande, Three Points, Willcox
• Yuma Sector: Blythe, Yuma, Wellton

(If offered, duty assignment will be determined by Confidential Client based on operational requirements.)

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What You’ll Do

As a Border Patrol Agent with Confidential Client you will perform front-line law enforcement duties to safeguard the border. Typical responsibilities include:

• Detecting, interviewing, and inspecting people and documents to determine citizenship and possible violations.
• Preventing and apprehending undocumented noncitizens and smugglers; conducting surveillance, including night operations with specialized equipment.
• Interpreting and following tracks, marks, and other evidence of illegal entry.
• Performing farm checks, building checks, traffic checks, city patrols, and transportation checks.
• Patrolling international boundaries and coastal waterways using vehicles, horses, boats, off-road vehicles, ATVs, motorcycles, and other assets.

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Qualifications

You must meet one of the qualifying paths below for the advertised grade level.

GL-5 qualification (one of the following):

• Experience: One year of general work experience demonstrating decision-making in stressful situations, ability to learn rules/methods through training, and ability to gather concise information via questioning and document examination.
• OR Education: A bachelor’s degree (four-year) from an accredited college or university.
• OR Combination: A mix of general work experience and college coursework (evaluated from resume and transcripts).

GL-7 qualification (one of the following):

• Experience: One year of specialized work experience showing ability to:
  • Make sound firearms judgments and decisions,
  • Interact courteously and tactfully in law enforcement contexts,
  • Rapidly analyze information and make prompt decisions, including making arrests after required training.
• OR Education Substitution: Bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement (GPA or honors) OR one year of graduate-level study in a related field (criminal justice, homeland security, forensic fields, etc.).
• OR Combination: A combination of specialized experience and education (evaluated from resume and transcripts).

Note: Candidates with prior or current law enforcement or military law-enforcement experience may qualify at higher grade levels (GL-9, GS-11); refer to the applicable BPA announcements for those opportunities.

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Other Requirements & Training

• Citizenship: Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Residency: Must have maintained primary U.S. residency for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
• Age: Applicants must be referred before reaching their 40th birthday per law enforcement retirement provisions, unless an exception applies (e.g., certain prior federal law enforcement service or Veterans’ Preference eligibility).
• Veterans: Veterans’ Preference and certain excepted appointments (e.g., Veterans Recruitment Appointment) may apply.
• Training: After hire, new BPAs attend approximately six months of intensive training at the Border Patrol Academy (Artesia, NM) covering immigration and nationality law, law enforcement operations, driver training, physical techniques, firearms, and more.
• Language: Ability to speak and read English and Spanish is required; language training is provided at the Academy to achieve proficiency.
• Physical & Other: Must meet fitness, background, and other federal law-enforcement eligibility requirements.

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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.