Border Patrol OT jumps as arrests drop

WASHINGTON -- Border Patrol agents have racked up daily overtime at a cost of about $1.4 billion in the past six years while the number of arrests of illegal border crossers has fallen to the lowest level in nearly 40 years, an Associated Press analysis of agency records finds.

Since the 2006 budget year, the agency charged with stopping would-be illegal border crossers and smugglers from making it into the United States over land and sea borders has spent more than $1.4 billion on what is described as "administrative uncontrollable overtime," according to the data provided by the Border Patrol. In practical terms, agents average two hours a day in overtime.

Over the course of a year, an agent can earn about $15,000 more than the base salary, which for a more experienced agent typically tops $60,000 a year. Agents are limited to $35,000 in overtime annually.

The cost of overtime rose from about $155.8 million in 2006 to more than $331 million in 2011. That increase coincides with the addition of about 9,000 agents in the past six years and the drop in apprehensions to a nearly 40-year low, from more than 1 million arrests in 2006 to about 340,000 in 2011.

Border Patrol Deputy Chief Ronald Vitiello said patrolling the border can be an unpredictable job that requires longer hours from agents.

Anything from making an arrest to talking to witnesses can keep an agent on duty beyond a scheduled shift, he said. Often it stems from charging the Border Patrol for the time spent driving from a remote location to an agent's home base or staying late to finish paperwork.

T.J. Bonner, a retired Border Patrol agent and former president of the agents' union, said daily overtime is necessary to make sure any gains made in securing the border aren't lost.

Vitiello said the agency is looking at possible changes that would impact overtime, including shifting to 10-hour shifts for four days a week.

Sharon Snellings, Customs and Border Protection's deputy assistant commissioner of human resources, said agency officials also are looking at shifting to a type of overtime system used by other law enforcement agencies that she said could save about $70 million a year.

But union president George McCubbin said the proposed changes don't "fit the type of work that we do. It's more suited for investigations." McCubbin said the current overtime system isn't perfect, but it does ensure that agents are paid for the hours they work.