Port Huron, Michigan, has never been more crucial, thanks to the increased flow of trade due to NAFTA, and Border Patrol jobs in Port Huron, Michigan, have increased steadily, reflecting these changes. For example, there were 409 Border Patrol agents employed at the Northern Border Sector of Detroit (Port Huron is within the Detroit sector) in FY2011, compared to just 185 in FY2008 and 318 in FY2009.
The Detroit-Windsor and Port Huron-Sarnia land border crossings, for example, have the most traffic of any international crossing in North America, as they represent almost 50 percent of all traffic crossing the U.S./Canada border.
More than 75,000 vehicles use these border crossings on a daily basis. To put the traffic flow of these ports into perspective, traffic has increased from 19.7 million vehicles in 1990 to 28.4 million vehicles in 2000, an increase of 44 percent. Truck traffic has experienced the largest increase, with traffic nearly doubling from 2.5 million vehicles in 1990 to 5.1 million vehicles in 2000.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation estimates that daily traffic at these crossing is expected to grow to nearly 104,000 vehicles by 2021, thereby highlighting the need for U.S. Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officers and border patrol agents well into the next decade.
Border Patrol Requirements in Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron, Michigan, is a Port of Entry that is staffed by CBP officers with specialized training and education. CBP officers must meet specific Border Patrol job requirements to achieve Border Patrol careers. They must pass background, fitness, criminal, credit, and polygraph tests, and they must be no more than 40 years old, with a valid driver’s license and no domestic violence convictions.
Other Border Patrol job requirements state that CBP candidates must be U.S. citizens and hold U.S. residency for at least 3 years. All careers with the Border Patrol include a retirement package, healthcare benefits, and life insurance.
Port of Huron, Michigan Port of Entry
The Port of Huron, Michigan Port of Entry is where CBP officers are authorized to collect duties on merchandise and enforce both navigation and customs laws. Port Huron is a Michigan border city on the southern end of Lake Huron (the easternmost point of Michigan) that had a population of nearly 31,000 as of the 2010 census.
Port Huron is connected to the Ontario city of Point Edward via the Blue Water Bridge. Point Edward had a population of 2,034 as of the 2011 census.
The Blue Water Bridge, an international bridge, is a cantilever truss bridge that is more than 6,000 feet in length. A second, newer span, a continued, tied-arch bridge also has a total length of more than 6,100 feet. These two bridge sections are the second busiest crossing between the United States and Canada, second to only the Ambassador Bridge in the Detroit-Windsor area.