Border patrol The U.S. Border Patrol has a proud history of over 86 years of service to our nation. Although changes have affected nearly every aspect of its operations from its earliest days. These things help shape the patrol n early years, professionalism, honor, integrity, respect for human life, and a shared effort, have remained. Mounted watchmen of the U.S. Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904, but their efforts were irregular and undertaken only when resources permitted. In 1915 Congress authorized a separate group of Mounted Guards, often referred to as Mounted Inspectors. Jeff Milton was referred to as the first Immigration Border Patrolman. After 1917 a higher head tax and literacy requirement imposed for entry prompted more people to try to enter illegally. In 1932 the Border Patrol was placed under the authority of two directors, one in charge of the Mexican border office in El Paso, the other in charge of the Canadian border office in Detroit. Whiskey bootleggers avoided the bridges and slipped their forbidden cargo across the Rio Grande by way of pack mules along the Southern border. President Franklin D. Roosevelt combined the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization into the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1933. The workload and accomplishments of the Patrol remained fairly constant until 1940, when the Immigration Service was moved from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice. An additional 712 agents and 57 auxiliary personnel brought the force to 1,531 officers. | | | The 1980s and 1990s saw a tremendous increase of illegal migration to
