Quotas are seldom a good idea, particularly in law enforcement.
By AMY TAXIN
Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The U.S. Border Patrol on Monday ordered an investigation of allegations by agents in Southern California that they were given arrest quotas and threatened with punishment if they failed to meet them.
Jeffrey Calhoon, El Centro’s chief patrol agent, said he learned the patrol agent in charge of the agency’s Riverside station some 100 miles north of the Mexican border gave agents numerical goals for how many suspected illegal immigrants they should arrest in January.
Calhoon says he has ordered a probe into whether agents were told they would be punished if they failed to meet this target.
“If there is some threatening behavior, we’re not going to tolerate it,” Calhoon said.
The probe comes after Border Patrol agents in Riverside said they were ordered to arrest at least 150 suspected illegal immigrants in January or faced having their work shifts changed.
No one has been suspended during the probe, said Richard Velez, an agency spokesman.
