U.S. Border Patrol hires civilians to free up agents for field

"I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into at first because it's a brand new position, but I knew that my assistance to the agents was greatly needed," she said.

Avalos would like to become a Border Patrol agent, but at 42, she missed the maximum starting age of 39.

Annual pay for processing coordinators is between $35,265 and $51,103, well below what agents earn. The Biden administration's 2022 budget proposal says the position costs 18.5% less than an average agent.

The Border Patrol began to seriously consider creating the job in 2014. Discussions intensified when agents were again stretched by large numbers of asylum-seeking families and children in 2019, many from Central America.

"It becomes a bit repetitious and a bit frustrating that there's no other option, right?" said Gloria Chavez, chief of the Border Patrol's El Paso sector, who was deeply involved in the effort. "Who else can we lean on to help us with this task? So that's when the conversation started."

The agency also hopes the new positions will recruit future agents, including more women, who make up only about 5% of agents, Chavez said.

“The processing coordinators are going to be working hand in hand with our agents at the central processing center, and they’re going to be learning a lot of different skills, building up their confidence for everyone, and then maybe they want to apply for those jobs,” she said.

Melanie Garcia, 24, left her job as a prison guard in a psychiatric unit in Lubbock, Texas, to work as a processing coordinator at a Border Patrol holding center in El Paso. She wanted to learn more about the agency and to be closer to family. She said the job was "a really good stepping stone" to becoming an agent.