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SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION
ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
FBI veteran to lead U.S. Border Patrol
Teacher salaries raised Trustees to spend $75,000 on increase
New chief to oversee annual budget
By Judith Rayo THE ZAPATA TIME S
By Elliot Spagat A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
SAN DIEGO — An FBI veteran was named Monday to head the U.S. Border Patrol, a departure from the historical practice of picking someone who has risen through the ranks. Mark Morgan, who briefly led the internal affairs department at the Border Patrol’s parent agency, will oversee a multibillion-dollar annual budget at the agency in the crosshairs of the national debate about border security and immigration. His selection doesn’t reflect lack of confidence in the Border Patrol’s leadership or performance, said Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. He said nearly all federal law enforcement agencies, from the Coast Guard to the Drug Enforcement Administration, had outsiders take over at one time. “In the case of the Border Patrol, the current leadership across the top, from headquarters to the field, consists of the finest group of men and women that I have worked with in my more than 40 years in law enforcement,” Kerlikowske wrote in a memo to staff. Morgan, 50, is no stranger to the Border Patrol. In 2014, the FBI loaned him to Customs and Border Protection to serve as acting assistant commissioner for internal affairs. He oversaw an extensive review of complaints of excessive use of force and employee misconduct. The National Border Patrol Council, which represents 18,000 agents, said it was disappointed the commissioner passed over several highly qualified internal candidates, ending what it called a 92-year tradition of choosing a leader from within that dates back to the agency’s creation. “The Border Patrol has a unique mission that is reflected in its culture and we realize it will be difficult for an outsider to quickly gain the trust and respect of his subordinates,” the union said. “We hope that Chief Morgan will quickly overcome this hurdle.” Advocacy groups that have criticized the Border Patrol and its parent agency over use-of-force practices were generally positive on the appointment but said Morgan had work cut out for him. During his 2014 stint at Customs and Border Protection, Morgan “acted with independence and integrity that promise to serve the agency well in his new role,” said Chris Rickerd, policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union Washington legislative office. Morgan’s challenge will be to “foster trust in border communities still suffering painful memories of an era when Border Patrol imposed no accountability for numerous abuses,” Rickerd said. Morgan is currently an assistant FBI chief who leads the training division. He joined the FBI as an agent in Los Angeles in 1996 and has held various positions, including head of its El Paso, Texas, office. Chief continues on A8
Billy Hathorn / Wikipedia
This 2009 photo shows Zapata High School. ZCISD will spend about $75,000 on teacher salary increases, trustees voted on Monday.
ZCISD will spend about $75,000 on teacher salary increases, trustees voted on Monday. During the district’s regular monthly meeting, Zapata County Independent School District trustees approved a step increase for teachers. There are 227 teachers in the district. Last year, trustees also approved a step increase for teachers and a 3 percent raise for paraprofessionals Step increases, or incre-
ments, are laid out in the teacher pay plan. For each additional year spent at the district, a teacher earns a higher salary. At Laredo ISD, trustees also approved a step increase for teachers in May. ZCISD trustees also approved a $750 raise for teachers, aside from the step increase, a 2 percent raise for administration and a 4 percent bump for paraprofessionals. Judith Rayo may be reached at 728-2567 or jrayo@lmtonline.com.
STARR COUNTY, TEXAS
UNUSED BOATS CAUSE STIR Vessels off the water offer little help in security By Jay Root and Julián Aguilar TEXAS TRIBUNE
ROMA — Keeping people and drugs from crossing illegally into the United States requires more than boots on the ground. In the busy smuggling corridor of Starr County, Texas, it also takes boats in the water. But while millions of dollars in state and federal money are being showered on the Rio Grande Valley to beef up border security, the U.S. Border Patrol does not keep its boats patrolling around the clock on the 300 miles of water covered by the Rio Grande Station. As a result, Border Patrol agents are accustomed to watching smuggling action surge after the boats leave the river. It's so predictable, agents can plan their meals around it. “The reason they don’t cross here right now is because the boats are out,” veteran Border Patrol Agent Jose Perales observed during a recent tour of the border in deep South Texas. "A lot of the agents take this down-
Todd Wiseman / Texas Tribune
United States Border Patrol agents patrol a portion of the Rio Grande river between Roma, Texas and Miguel Aléman, Tamaulipas.
time to take the opportunity to go get something to eat or whatever because once the boats get out of the water they know they are in for a busy afternoon.” Explanations for why the boats can't stay on patrol around the clock depend on who you ask. Perales said it's all about warm bodies.
"We don’t have that manpower to man them 24/7. Other stations that are bigger stations do have three shifts, so the boats are 24/7," he said. "However, we are in the Rio Grande Station area of responsibility, and we don’t have the manpower.” But it’s more about willpower the way Border Patrol
union official Chris Cabrera sees it. The station has more than 3,000 agents, according to agency statistics, and Cabrera said there are more than enough willing recruits to man the boats. "For some reason — I don’t know what it is — we have unused boats," said Boats continues on A8