The Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency is holding recruitment events in Vermont next week for people interested in working as officers on the U.S.-Canada border.
The agency has full-time job openings in its Vermont and Maine teams.
Officers’ main responsibility is “to protect the nation by detecting and preventing terrorists and their weapons from entering the U.S. while facilitating the orderly flow of legitimate trade and travel,” according to a press release about the event.
“CBP officers perform a wide variety of duties, including, but not limited to: conveyance and traveler inspection, passenger and cargo analysis, examination and law enforcement activities relating to revenue and trade, seizure of contraband, interdiction of agricultural pests and diseases and admissibility of persons at 328 ports of entry located at airports, sea ports and land borders,” the statement added.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens and have lived domestically for the past three years.
Each person must pass a medical exam, fitness and drug tests, a background investigation, and a polygraph test. Applicants must also be under the age of 40, though some exceptions are allowed. Candidates will have to carry a firearm and will receive paid training at CBP’s Field Operations Academy in Glynco, Ga., once they pass admittance tests.
“CBP offers opportunities for those looking for a challenging and rewarding career, protecting America,” regional CBP Recruiter Sean Maher said in a statement. “Whether on the frontline or behind the scenes, CBP needs eligible applicants to fill positions in both domestic, and in some cases, international roles.”
CBP, which oversees the Border Patrol, will host events next week in Derby Line, Vt., and Burlington, Vt., where Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., once served as mayor.
The first event will be held Aug. 9 at 2 p.m. at the Derby Line (Route 5) Port of Entry and the second will take place at 1 p.m. on Aug. 10 at the Vermont Career Resource Center in Burlington. The first event requires candidates register in advance, but the second one does not.
The hiring is part of a national hiring movement as CBP looks to grow its ranks following President Trump’s executive order in January to hire 5,000 Border Patrol agents and 10,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, unveiled a $15 billion border security bill last week that would fund parts of a southern border wall, as well as new Border Patrol and ICE hires.
