Van Horn is a small town of a couple thousand people located off Interstate 10, with the nearest city being Juarez, Mexico, about an hour and fifty minute drive to the west. The U.S.-Mexico border is just over 30 miles away, and Van Horn finds itself in one of the most active corridors for illegal drugs smuggling from Mexico to the rest of the United States. Border Patrol jobs in Van Horn are the first line of defense against these and other illegal activities stemming from the frontier, not least of which is illegal immigration.
Because of such a high level of activity, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers have a wide variety of tools at their disposal: aircraft, watercraft, drone surveillance systems, drug and explosive-sniffing dogs, horses, specialized units, trucks, ATVs, dune buggies, and the list goes on. Agents combine these tools with the latest technology, making for a highly adept local and national Border Patrol force. The Van Horn Station officially opened in 1970 and has been providing Border Patrol jobs in the town ever since. Agents are responsible for surveillance and federal law enforcement of approximately 3,775 square miles of territory, including 15 directly adjacent miles to the border with Mexico.
CBP Careers That Give Back to the Van Horn Community
In addition to keeping America safe, CBP officials give back to their local communities. In September Agents from the Van Horn Station became partners in a local school to kindergarten through fifth graders in a project to help encourage reading, meeting with students for an hour two times a week. Border Agents also participate in search and rescue operations. Recently a hunter was reported missing to Border Patrol Agents during a snow storm at 10 p.m. Four hours later the Agents located the man and reassured everyone he was all right. A career as a Border Agent means you take the good with the bad.
Featured Career with the Border Patrol: Air Interdiction Pilot
Air Interdiction Pilots play an essential role in the CBP force in the United States. They can see the big picture on the field and communicate this to Agents on the ground. CBP Pilots participate in tracking, search and rescue, backup operations, and reconnaissance. To qualify for a career as an Air Interdiction Pilot one must meet the following minimum requirements:
- U.S. Citizen
- Pass a background investigation and drug test
- Complete a physical
- Valid FAA Commercial Pilot’s License
- Be under 40 years old
- Total flight time 1,500 hours with 100 in the last year (with some exceptions)