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The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Wednesday that it would offer a 5% wage compensation to officers wishing to stay at work for another year while the agency struggled with a increase in the number of families crossing the US-Mexico border.
"Investing in the men and women of the US Border Patrol continues to be my top priority," said Carla Provost, chief of the US Border Patrol, in a statement. "Their experience and expertise is critical to the success of the border security mission."
GS-12 and GS-13 agents who agree to stay at CBP for 12 months will receive a quarterly bonus that will ultimately represent 5% of their base salary. According to the agency, service contracts will start in May, incentives will begin to accrue in June and payments can be made as early as September.
The program follows months of collaboration between CBP and the National Border Patrol Council, Provost said in its release.
The bonuses will cost the agency about $ 84 million, according to Fox News. The funds would come from the existing CRP budget.
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on CBP published earlier this year showed that the attrition rate of the agency exceeded its recruitment rate. CBP, at the time, would have given 10% boost to its agents, wrote the government watchdog.
"According to the border patrol documentation, these incentives, if implemented, could help reduce the attrition rate of the border patrol – which has consistently exceeded its hiring rate – by helping the retained agents who would otherwise have left the Border Patrol for similar positions within OFA, ICE or others. forces of order, "writes the GAO.
The agency is looking to strengthen its staff as the White House strives to stem the tide of more illegal border crossings.
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