Suicides Increasing Among Border Patrol Agents

A recent increase in the number of Border Patrol agents in the U.S. has administrators searching for both a cause and a preventative measure to help their employees deal with the stress. Federal officials working with the Border Patrol believe the string of recent suicides, 15 since February 2008, are not associated with the agency or the job. However the surge in numbers has others seeking answers.
The job of Border Patrol agent offers job seekers $37,000 per year starting salaries. The position offers benefits but in recent years the job has become more regimented and has many wondering if the monotony is effecting agents in a negative way. Although Customs and Border Protection denies the job stressors and suicides are connected, the agency is pushing suicide prevention initiatives such as training for signs of suicidal employees, and videos for supervisors and employees.
The Border Protection agency has not publically commented on the suicides but confirmed the number of recent employee suicides. The Associated Press verified the names of the employees by obtaining records using the Freedom of Information Act. Several employees contacted by the AP made statements on an anonymous basis, and several employees discussed the training video provided by the Border Patrol. The video discusses signs of suicide, and forbids agents from attending funerals of colleagues in uniform. The Customs and Border Protection agency head of human resources Christine Gaugler. states “There is no uptick. It has nothing to do with our hiring, we are just responding to the suicides that have occurred.”
The job of Border Patrol agent is one that is highly stressful and many employees fear for their personal safety on a daily basis. Many work in conditions where drug cartels and smugglers often wound, maim, and kill anyone who impedes their progress. Agents are in the line of fire daily and work 12 hour shifts watching for illegal immigrants entering the country. The agents also deal with hostile citizens and the stressors of finding dead bodies along the border as well as people in poor health after traveling in severe condition across the desert areas. Combined with the recent incident of a shooting of a young Mexican boy along the border by agents has employees of the Border Patrol fearing any incident could become a matter of international proportions.
The increase in suicides for Border Patrol agents is shocking and hopefully a temporary spike rather than a trend. The employees that committed suicide recently left no final messages or suicide notes and therefore no one can be certain the specific cause. This is possibly one of the few times that immigration reform cannot help. The Border Patrol agents face numerous stressors in their day to day job duties. Border Patrol agency administrators need to look closer at the employee morale and try to find ways help these employees deal with the stressors of what appears to be a necessary but seemingly impossible job with little or no reward for their efforts.
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