Border Patrol: We Need More Chaplains

Agents at the U.S.-Mexico border are requesting some unexpected backup: God.

Citing everything from clashes with cartels to witnessing first hand the plight of migrants to increased political polarization, the United States Border Patrol is training more chaplains to help agents deal with their spiritual health.

And though the Border Patrol has rapidly expanded efforts to hire and train chaplains in recent years, they say they still need more.

Chaplains on the Rise

There are about 240 chaplains in the Border Patrol now, assisting their 20,000+ agents with their spiritual and mental wellbeing. Chaplains are largely Christian, though there are also a handful of Jewish and Muslim chaplains. Recognizing the unique mental and physical hardships that come with being a border agent, the Border Patrol put a renewed focus on hiring and training more chaplains, nearly doubling the number of chaplains in just four years.

Trainings are held three times a year, each one at a different border station. Though almost all chaplains identify as Christian, they are trained not to bring up faith, unless it is brought up first by the person they are counseling.

It’s impressive growth for a program which didn’t exist until 1999. Following an unprecedented number of agent deaths in 1998, faithful agents started a grassroots movement to create the chaplaincy program, beginning with only six initial chaplains to serve the entire organization. By 2003, the official chaplaincy training program had fully materialized, and the academy signed off on their first formal graduating class of 17 chaplains.

What Do Border Patrol Chaplains Do?

Chaplains are trained to help Border Patrol agents work through some of the unique challenges of their career. Border Patrol agents bear first hand witness to the difficulties migrants face, and sometimes find dead or dying migrants in the desert. All Border Patrol chaplains are active Border Patrol agents, who have been endorsed by their own church. They all undergo a 2.5 week training, and can be called away from their normal duties at any time to provide emotional/spiritual support to their colleagues.

Agents also occasionally deal with violence, including from cartels, and they say they sometimes struggle with survivor’s guilt following the deaths of their colleagues. Many also struggle with public scrutiny. “The hardest thing is, people … don’t know what we do,” explains Border Patrol Agent Brandon Frederick, “and we’ve been called terrible names.”

In fact, agents cite public criticism as one of the primary factors they need help with their mental health. It's no secret that immigration is one of the most hotly contested political issues of the 21st century, and border patrol agents are at the center of that. 

According to a recent Gallup poll, only one-third of Americans think the U.S. government does a "good job" handling migrants at the border. As the public face of border security, agents are often criticized from both sides, either for going too far, or not far enough, and many view them as worsening the situation at the border - not improving it. The vitriol for border agents is so bad that many claim to instruct their children not to tell others what their parent's job is, instead suggesting that they just say that their mother or father "works for the government" when asked.

What's Wrong With Them?

It all apparently takes a strong emotional toll. In 2013, an internal memo from U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher detailed the detrimental effects border work has on agents, including increased rates of alcoholism. "The Border Patrol is averaging almost two alcohol-related arrests per week," he wrote. "This continued level and rate of alcohol-related arrests within our agency is alarming and detrimental to the overall well-being of our workforce."

Chaplains are trained to address alcohol abuse, as well as other common issues amongst border agents, including trauma and family struggles. And though numbers have increased dramatically in recent years, the agency still says more chaplains are needed to address the spiritual and mental needs of their agents. 

But the chaplains they have now say they’re happy to assist their fellow agents in whatever ways are needed. “One tries to give them support within the limits of what your work allows,” explains chaplain Yaira Santiago. “I always have the biggest smile.”