To keep potential terrorists, criminal aliens, those who may contribute to the illegal population and others who pose a threat out of the United States, secondary CBP officers must be knowledgeable in immigration law, have the ability to conduct an intensive interview, and possess the skills to defend him- or herself if the alien becomes violent during the process.

Photo Credit: Gerald L. Nino

CBP officer conducts a secondary examination.

A challenging course
To prepare CBP officers for the important work of hard secondary, subject matter experts from the ports, Office of Training and Development Headquarters staff, Office of Information and Technology, and the CBP Field Operations Academy designed the Basic Admissibility Secondary Processing (BASP) course. The BASP course is the 37th and final module of CBP officer cross-training for field employees. BASP participants are trained at the CBP Field Operations Academy in Glynco, Georgia following national standards for preparing and administering adverse actions.

“This is not an easy course,” states Robert Hessler, CBP Field Operations Academy Assistant Director of Advanced Training. “BASP training is mandatory for all CBP officers with less than six months of experience processing adverse action cases. It is 22 days of training delivered over five weeks and it’s jam-packed with everything an officer will need to process an adverse action no matter what their background.”

To ensure that the agency is performing these important tasks uniformly nationwide, BASP is also available to experienced secondary CBP officers.

BASP includes 60 hours of refresher immigration law training including nationality law, grounds of inadmissibility, and deportation charges. Training on detecting fraudulent documents is also included. Another segment of the training teaches CBP officers how to navigate the various computer systems they will be using in processing adverse actions.

BASP participants receive practical training preparing adverse actions for withdrawals, expedited removals, notices to appear, and visa waiver program refusals. They are trained in conducting sworn statements, fingerprinting, and the other actions required to complete the file that is assigned to an alien for life.

“When they leave here they will have entire files that they take back to their port. They can open this file and have all the forms that they will need to complete any action properly,” explains CBP Enforcement Officer Michele Ferland - an instructor with more than nine years experience in hard secondary in Madawaska, Maine - who is detailed to the BASP program.

“Reference material provided for the course was outstanding. It provides information for processing every different type of case that an officer may encounter,” echoes recent graduate Charles Williamson, a supervisory CBP officer working in the Port of Cleveland.

Physical training
Another aspect of the BASP course is the physical training requirement. BASP participants are required to participate in 4 hours of firearms training and 20 hours of physical techniques. “The use of force training, coupled with the tactics and techniques used in the reality based training scenarios that conclude the training, are an important part of an officer’s ability to make decisions and act decisively. This training gives officers working in a secondary environment the tools they need, both cognitive and experiential, to control situations quickly and effectively,” states Michael Brown, CBP Field Operations Academy Acting Assistant Director, Firearms and Physical Techniques.

After successful completion of the BASP course, CBP officers return to their ports and may be assigned to process adverse action cases as their primary duty for up to two years. Successful completion of BASP is a prerequisite for the course currently being designed for the new CBP Enforcement Officer position.

The CBP Field Operations Academy and the Office of Training and Development Headquarters staff conducted the pilot for the BASP course in October 2005. The first BASP class after the pilot began on January 24, 2006. Since that date a 24-person class has begun every two weeks.

Nominations sought The Office of Field Operations, Field and Resource Management, is now seeking nominations for attending this course. Follow your chain of command when making requests for training. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact Patricia Fitzpatrick at (202) 344-2729 or Suzanne Shepherd at (202) 344-2073.