Training Border Patrol agent after Graduation..
All new recruits get a different card -- a "silent partner," they're called -- as a way of honoring the 127 agents who have died in the line of duty while reminding them of the dangers of the job. The agents-in-training will carry the cards throughout their career.Urbina is picking up where his uncle left off. He is training to become a Border Patrol agent at one of the toughest law enforcement academies in the country. And he'll be deployed at a time when the eyes of the world are on federal authorities' treatment of immigrants at the US-Mexico border.
over his heart. But he doesn't need the reminder.  because I know he's watching," Urbina said. "He was 34 years old when he died, and I'm 34 years old entering the Border Patrol. It feels like I'm finishing what he started."academy's expanded curriculum
Academy is one of a handful of schools at the Federal Law Enforcement Center in this desert city of 11,000 people some 150 miles northeast .
classroom buildings and gyms, plus firing ranges and driving courses that span more than 1,000 acres. Everything the trainees need is on campus, including a grocery store,  irst time in its 84-year history, the academy has expanded its curriculum from three months to six months to better prepare trainees for what they will encounter in the field. Expanding the curriculum was really a couple of things," said Dan Harris Jr., the school's chief. "One, I want them to be prepared for any situation they may encounter. The second thing is that I want them to have every tool available to them to handle that encounter safely.
Trainees graduate with 14 certifications, up from two, in areas such as firearms, driving, and operations training, which includes classes in spotting fraudulent documents and working in detention centers. The time spent in immigration law and Spanish classes now count for 18 college credits.
Chief Harris admits there's pressure to find men willing to do a remote, dusty and sometimes dangerous job which pays an entry-level base salary of about $40,000. But that's nothing compared with the pressure to find women.
Trump era, the academy also has been given a new mandate: recruit more agents. According to Customs and Border Protection there are about 19,400 agents on duty -- nearly 2,000 below the congressionally mandated 21,370. President Trump has called for 5,000 more agents, which means the academy will need to churn out hundreds of graduating classes to meet the new mandate. The academy can accommodate up to 50 trainees per class, but most graduating classes have hovered in the 20s. 19,437 agents on patrol are female, the biggest gender gap in the federal government. Chief Harris hopes women will account for 10 percent of future classes. He's also quick to point out that for the first time ever the US Border Patrol
Border Patrol is a 'golden ticket'
Urbina has known what he wanted to do with his life since he was 15.
He grew up just 20 miles north of the border in Anthony, New Mexico. When his uncle was still on patrol he'd come to visit and they'd sit on the couch for hours while Urbina listened, wide-eyed, to his uncle's stories from the field.
Urbina became a corrections officer because he needed a 9-to-5 job and a decent paycheck while his wife went to nursing school.
When I talked to one of my neighbors and I told him what I was doing, he said, 'You're a Hispanic -- aren't you going to feel guilty or sad deporting somebody of your own kind?'" said Urbina, whose father immigrated legally from Mexico and settled in the US to start a family.
"It's sad watching people get deported, but my dad was able to come here the right way and I'm here today for that reason, thanks to him."
And joining the agency in the age of Trump adds extra, and at times unwanted, attention. Some agents have been criticized for using excessive force on migrants and for their handling of the family separations..