By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
The Del Rio Sector Border Patrol’s new chief patrol agent, Jason D. Owens, formally assumed command of the sector on Friday.
He spoke with the 830 Times earlier in the week, discussing the past year and looking at the challenges he faces in the year ahead.
The 830 Times: “In your 26 years in the Border Patrol, have you ever had a year like 2021?”
Owens: “That’s kind of a tricky question, and I mean that because every year is unique. I say that because it would be kind of hard to compare this to 9/11. It would be hard to compare it to years in the 1990s, when I was working in California, and it was very busy there. Or in the mid-2000s in Tucson, Ariz., when it was very busy there as well. I was in the Rio Grande Valley whenever the shift went over from Tucson to the Rio Grande Valley, and we started being really busy there.
“And of course you had the 2014 surge with unaccompanied children. That in itself was very busy as well. So it’s really hard to say, but I can tell you this is going to be another unique time, without a doubt. I can say that 2021, especially for the Del Rio Sector, is probably going to be a landmark year.”
The 830 Times: “So you came on board here when?”
Owens: “I came here in November 2021.”
The 830 Times: “And where did you come from?”
Owens: “I was at the Academy, in command of the U.S. Border Patrol Academy, and before that, I was in command of the Houlton Sector in the state of Maine, and before that I was in Laredo. I was the deputy chief and the acting chief down there, and before that, I was in the Rio Grande Valley, so I’ve been in Texas most of my career. I’ve been in El Paso, I’ve been in the Rio Grande Valley, I’ve been in Laredo and now I’m in Del Rio.”
The 830 Times: “What are your feelings about coming to Del Rio, given the year that we’ve had?”
Owens: “I love it. This is why I signed up, to be in the mix and being where it’s busy, because that’s where you can make the biggest difference. Number one, this is a great team. This sector is phenomenal, and I think it showed in the results from that Haitian bridge incident, how everybody rallied and came together.
“I’ll tell you something else: The Del Rio community, also, just astounding, amazing. This size of community is more my speed. This is the size of community I like, and I’ve had the chance to get out there and meet with several of the community leaders; the sheriff, the chief of police, the city manager, and it’s just a great group of people. Like everywhere, the Border Patrol isn’t just in the community, it is part of the community, but I have seldom seen a community rally around the Border Patrol as much as I’ve seen Del Rio do so.”
The 830 Times: “Looking ahead to the rest of the year we’ve entered, what do you feel are some of the challenges that face the Del Rio Sector?”
Owens: “The Border Patrol exists to secure the border, to provide border security, and that is, to keep the American people, this country and their way of life, safe. And what we do is, we go out there and try and face the threats that mean to do our country and our people harm.
“We will always be there for the humanitarian effort when it exists. We’re going to do everything we can to save lives and help these people who are trying to seek a better way of life, but when we’re doing that, we’re not out on patrol. We’re not out there looking for the narcotics; we’re not out there looking for the weapons. That’s the thing that keeps me up at night. That’s the biggest challenge for us, is keeping our agents, our men and women out on patrol, looking for those real threats, in the face of this humanitarian crisis.
“There are always criminals who are going to try to take advantage of the fog. They’re going to try and take advantage of the volume we’re seeing for their own benefit, for their own purposes, and we all know that. Everything that comes across the border from Mexico is usually managed or run by the cartels. They’re making money in one form or another, and they’re also using that volume (of immigrants) to their advantage to the extent that they can.
“So not only are those folks that are coming across in danger because they’re in the hands of the cartel, it makes the situation more dangerous for my men and women who are out here on patrol. It makes the situation more dangerous for the communities that are right on the border.”
The 830 Times: “One of the things the county commissioners court regularly discusses is the immigration situation, and one of the things mentioned during the last meeting was the meeting with the new CBP commissioner, and one of the topics of concern was the morale of the men and women here. What concerns do you have about the morale of your agents and what steps are you taking to make sure that morale stays strong?”
Owens: “So let me tell you why an agent’s morale will suffer. It’s because they can’t get out there and do the job that they want to be doing. We are all public servants, and we signed up to do this job because we want to be part of something bigger, a better mission, and that mission is keeping this country and the ones we love safe. So you’ll see the morale start to suffer if they feel they’re not able to get out there and do that, to make that difference they’re wanting to make.
“So for me, my mission in life is to try and do everything I can to make sure they can get back out on patrol and do the job that they signed on to do, to protect the border, to seize the narcotics, to arrest the hardened criminals that are coming across. Everybody takes satisfaction in being able to save a life, and you see that. They don’t hesitate for a second. The morale may be low, but you have not seen them waver. They will be out there each and every day, and they will be giving it 100 percent no matter what.
“What I owe them is to do everything that I can to get them back out on patrol to do the job that they want to be doing in the first place.
The 830 Times: “How can the Del Rio community assist in that effort?”
Owens: “By sending a message to our elected officials, to the people that represent us, that this is what they want, that this is what they want to see their Border Patrol doing. If they want to see their Border Patrol out on patrol, they need to talk to their elected officials, and they need to send that message any way they can to the decision-makers in Washington, D.C., and let them know they’re either happy or they’re not happy.”
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