Massachusetts has roughly 1,500 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline, reaching from the border with New Hampshire on the north to Rhode Island on the south, making marine interdiction agents among the most important of all border patrol jobs in the state.
Cape Cod, which extends approximately 65 miles from the eastern coast, is surrounded by a series of islands, including the Nantucket Islands, Martha’s Vineyard and the small Elizabeth Islands. This extensive shoreline attracts terrorists and other individuals seeking unlawful entrance into the U.S. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency of the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for guarding these borders from dangerous and unwanted people and goods.
CBP Accomplishments and Job Requirements in Massachusetts
CBP stations in the U.S. are organized into 19 sectors. Massachusetts is part of the Swanton Border Sector, which supported 302 border patrol jobs in 2011. They were responsible for 815 apprehensions of undocumented aliens, of which the overwhelming majority (653) were from a nation other than Mexico. That same year agents in the Swanton sector also confiscated 7,415.29 pounds of marijuana and 28.16 pounds of cocaine.
Massachusetts Ports of Entry
The dedicated members of the Massachusetts border patrol maintain 10 ports of entry, eight of which are at coastal or near-coastal locations. Two of the busiest ports are located in Boston. In 2012, Boston’s Logan International Airport set a new record of 29,325,617 passengers passing through the airport, an increase of 416,350 people since 2011. Border Patrol agents and CBP officers are there 24/7 to facilitate lawful travel while preventing the entrance of undocumented persons and illegal weapons and other goods.
The Boston Harbor has come a long way since Tea Party days. Black Falcon Cruise Terminal accommodates 300,000 cruise liner passengers every year while a short distance away the Conley Terminal is one of the world’s busiest shipping ports. According to the “Massport” transportation network, Conley Terminal handles roughly 1.5 million tons of cargo annually. Border patrol agents, agricultural specialists and CBP officers working at the Boston service port perform all cargo processing functions, including inspections and verifications.
Border Patrol Career Requirements in Massachusetts
Border patrol jobs and U.S. customs careers available in Massachusetts include:
- CBP Agent
- CBP Officer
- Air Interdiction Agent
- Marine Interdiction Agent
- Agriculture Specialist
- Contract Specialist
- Import Specialist
In addition to the above occupations, the CBP incorporates the Office of Air & Marine (OAM), the world’s largest air and marine enforcement agency and a critical part of the CBP’s comprehensive strategy to protect areas like Massachusetts that have extensive coastlines. The OAM, founded in 2006, currently employs over 1,200 air and marine interdiction officers and maintains 271 aircraft and over 301 marine vessels.
Requirements for formal training to become a marine interdiction officer include:
- U.S. citizenship
- License to operate an uninspected passenger vessel
- Minimum of one year specialized law enforcement experience
- Be under the age of 40
- Pass a thorough background investigation
- Pass drug screening and polygraph tests