Border Patrol celebrates 90 years of guarding borders

A federal agency with a major presence in north-central Montana is celebrating its 90th birthday today.

U.S. Border Patrol was authorized by Congress in 1924 as part of the Immigration Bureau of the Department of Labor.

It has been part of north-central Montana almost as long, with the Spokane Sector creating an office in Havre July 31, 1924. The town became home to the Havre Sector headquarters, which oversees 452 miles of U.S.-Canadian border from the North Dakota border to the Continental Divide, in 1933.

Havre Sector Chief Patrol Agent Christopher Richards said in a recent interview that much of the mission of the patrol has stayed the same in the last 90 years, with some changes especially after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"The purpose that we have is nothing less than the protection of American citizens from foreign threats," he said.

In the Havre Sector, the patrol continues to patrol the border between entry ports, watching for illegal aliens and illegal activities and for illegal transportation of items such as drugs.

Richards said a change is a stronger focus on finding out what threats are there, using a risk-based strategy to know what they will be facing and where activity is occurring.

"We need to know what is going on," he said.

The history of the patrol has evolved over the years. During prohibition, inspectors pursued liquor smugglers - including bootleggers right here in north-central Montana.

During World War II, Border Patrol agents watched for German submarines. During the Cold War, agents on board domestic airline flights serving as air marshals. At the end of school segregation during the Civil Rights Movement agents escorted students to class in the South. And in the wake of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, agents responded to help victims and restore order.

The 9/11 attacks, which led to the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol being melded into its Custom and Border Protection agency, has led to a massive expansion of the patrol.

Richards said that when his grandfather graduated from the Border Patrol class in 1938, the 15th class. His father graduated in Class 119 and Richards graduated from Class 195 in 1986.

There have been roughly 1,000 classes since then, he said.

"It's been an amazing, remarkable, overwhelming growth," he said.

Another change has been in technology - along with still using horses and binoculars, Border Patrol now uses equipment like top-end helicopters, automobiles, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, high-tech cameras and thermal imaging devices, global positioning devices and electronic sensors.

The agency also cooperates closely with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, with the trade-off going both ways. Border Patrol assists in search and rescues, provided assistance during the recent gunman standoff in Havre, and responds to other requests for help from agencies. Richards said the local law enforcement also helps Border Patrol especially in collecting information.

"We work closely with all of the counties ... all the way across the Hi-Line, and we're mutually supportive with the sheriff departments and the local (police departments)," Richards said. " ... We're all law enforcement and we help each other out.

"Knowing what is going on out there is half the battle," he added.