By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The Border Patrol’s unprecedented campaign to hire more women is not just about equality.
It’s also practical, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Many of the 1,600 agents that the Border Patrol plans to hire by the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30 will be women. Only 5% of the agency’s 21,000 agents are women.
The advantages to having female agents are numerous, proponents of the plan said. For one, female agents generally have better relationships migrants who are sexually assaulted. They also can search for valuables hidden in bras and can gather information from migrants by being talkative.
“The women will tell them a lot through girl talk,” said Monique Grame, 39, a single mother from San Diego who joined the Border Patrol nearly 15 years ago.
“The perception is we’re more natural, we put people at ease.”
