Appearing before the House Immigration Subcommittee at the end of April, Gus de la Vina, the Chief of the Border Patrol said his agency would be able to hire only 200-400 new agents this year, not the 1,000 agents Congress has said it is to hire. The size of the Border Patrol has doubled since 1993 to about 8,000 agents, making it the largest law enforcement agency in the federal government. It is also one of the most inexperienced: 40% of the agents have less than two years experience, and 60% have less than five years. Some in Congress believe there should be 20,000 agents on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The primary cause for the difficulty in meeting the recruiting goals Congress has set is the strong economy and its booming labor market. Another cause might be the entry level pay rate, only $24,000 per year. However, by the second year the base salary is $33,000.

The agency also has problems keeping the agents it has. Many agents are required to perform "visual deterrent positions," sitting in a car on a piece of high ground visible to the border for stretches of up to 9 hours. The strategy is said to be crucial to the overall border strategy, but it is unpopular with the agents.

The San Diego office is having particular difficulty retaining agents. In 1998 the office lost 339 agents of 2,300. This may be in large part due to the southwest border strategy, which has tightened the border at San Diego so much that there is little work for the agents to do. During 1998 arrests by the Border Patrol numbered only 248,000, an 18 year low.

Most recruits have either military or local law enforcement experience, and knowledge of Spanish is a requirement. To graduate from Border Patrol Academy, the trainees must take 744 hours of class in subjects ranging from Spanish to law to psychology. The Border Patrol is a very busy agency, making more arrests than any other law enforcement agency – over 1.5 million a year –and seizes more than $1 billion in illegal drugs.