Border Patrol Agents Face Harsh Elements and Complex Situations

CHIPPEWA COUNTY, MI – – The U.S. border patrol says it has almost 20,000 agents.

85-percent of them are on the Mexican border, the so-called frontlines of the migrant crisis.

But there’s a smaller, dedicated crew of agents patrolling the Upper Peninsula.

“I heard an agent say, a long time ago, that the southern border is like checkers, while the northern border is like chess, if that makes any sense. You’re not just going to go out on the northern border and observe crossers in front of you. I mean, that seldom happens.” Agent Benjamin Volz, USCBP Sault Ste. Marie Station.

It very seldom happens in Michigan.

Despite last year’s major spike in illegal crossings along the border with Canada, the Detroit sector, covering four states, only reported around 600 out of more than 20,000 encounters.

“Every day is different. It’s very dynamic. You never know what you’re going to get into,” said Agent Jason Viau, USCBP Sault Ste. Marie.

The sector’s most expansive patrols are in the woods and swamps of the eastern UP.

Many agents are born-and-raised Michiganders, returning home after stints elsewhere.

“Border security up here is a community effort. A lot of things will generate from somebody up here, out on the water, be it fishing or some kind of recreational activity, thinking something that they’ve observed or that they’re currently observing doesn’t look normal, like normal activity, so they’ll call it in,” said Volz.

“We’re on patrol five days, five, ten-hour days every single week. We’re on patrol in snowmobiles, four wheelers, PWCS, boats,” said Viau. “It’s about six degrees out when we’re on the sled. Going 30, 40 miles an hour, it’s probably 20 or 30 below. The elements are brutal.”

Patrol agents are in a unique position to help others in the wilderness.

Viau says he picked up a call in December and was first on the scene, even from 20 miles away.

“My partner and I were on patrol in paradise, and we heard a call coming across the radio about a vehicle that had been involved in an accident. A subject was pinned inside the vehicle. It was on its side in a ditch full of water,” said Viau. “The upper portion of his body was also in the water, so we were worried about hypothermia setting in. Whitefish fire department volunteers were laying in the water next to him. Everybody was basically working together as a team, as a community, and we were able to get this guy safely to a hospital.”

Quiet patrols aside, there’s more activity at crossings like the international bridge.

Detroit customs field officers seized about 4,000 pounds of drugs last year, including 11 pounds of Fentanyl.

“People can’t inundate us enough with phone calls and information. Let us go out there and take care of it, whatever that might be, and if it chalks up to be nothing, that’s a win for everybody. That’s a win for border security, which means these local residents are safe, the state is safe and it’s a win for national security,” said Voltz.

On Tuesday, border patrol announced that the Soo station arrested a Venezuelan gang member who was attempting to retrieve a previously seized vehicle.

Border patrol says the individual was turned over to ICE.