# Understanding the Rural Border Patrol Hiring Bill

The federal government has a hard time finding and keeping Border Patrol agents in remote areas like rural Montana, West Texas, or northern Maine. This bill tells the Department of Homeland Security to figure out why that's happening and come up with a plan to fix it.

Here's what the bill requires: Within one year, the government needs to create a detailed strategy explaining how to attract more people to Border Patrol jobs in rural and remote areas and keep them from quitting. To develop this plan, they have to talk to people who actually work or have worked in these locations—asking them what makes it hard to live there, what problems their families face, and why some agents decide to leave. The government also needs to look at what financial incentives and benefits already exist that could help, like housing assistance or special pay bonuses, and figure out how to use them better.

The implementation plan must include a pilot program to test new approaches and should partner with colleges, veteran employment centers, and job placement agencies in rural regions to recruit people who might be interested in these positions. After the plan is put in place, the government has to report back to Congress every three years on whether it's actually working—are more people applying for these jobs, and are they staying longer? The Government Accountability Office will also review the progress and make recommendations for improvements.

Essentially, this bill is about solving a real workforce problem: Border Patrol stations in isolated areas struggle to fill positions because people don't want to move their families to places with limited job opportunities for spouses, fewer schools, and less community infrastructure. By requiring a thoughtful strategy based on what workers actually need, the bill aims to make these postings more attractive and help the Border Patrol maintain adequate staffing in areas that are critical for border security.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Rural and Remote Hiring and Retention Strategy Act of 2023

Golden, Jared F.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Rural and Remote Hiring and Retention Strategy Act of 2023 This bill requires the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to issue a strategy and implementation plan to improve CBP's hiring and retention of individuals in rural or remote areas. Until the strategy and implementation plan are issued, DHS must periodically brief Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on its progress. After receiving each DHS report, the GAO must submit to Congress an assessment of the effectiveness of the actions described in the DHS report.