MARFA — Last Thursday, kids from across the Big Bend traveled to Marfa for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Big Bend Sector’s annual open house. The event is open to the whole community but is a special field trip day for regional students — age-appropriate dance hits, creative activities and a chance to hop inside some of the agency’s flashier vehicles make it a memorable day for all.
For those interested in all things four-wheeled, Big Bend Sector lined up vans, trucks and off-road vehicles, and the youngsters were invited to climb inside. By far the most popular vehicle was a helicopter — dozens of kids waited in a line that snaked around the parking lot for a chance to check it out.
Another popular tent hosted a demonstration of how CBP agents use drones in their day-to-day lives. The test drone — about the size and shape of a stingray — is used in fair weather to conduct surveillance operations around the region. Agents were also on hand to show off a mobile watchtower — there are two mobile watchtowers and 51 fixed watchtowers in the Big Bend Sector.
The Presidio Port of Entry also showed out in force, handing out stickers and coloring books aimed at teaching kids to educate their families about what agricultural items can and can’t be brought back from Mexico. The team also presented a binder of fake documents seized at the bridge to show how agents spot counterfeits.
An exhibit dedicated to the agency’s Missing Migrant Program was more somber in tone, but carried an important message. CBP deploys emergency beacons throughout the desert, working with landowners to try to place them in some of the region’s most remote reaches. The Big Bend Sector’s 24 beacons are brightly colored and instruct users to hit the button in case of distress.
Big Bend Sector Spokesperson Landon Hutchens was hopeful that the open house showed local kids career options they could pursue in their own backyard — and shifted public perception about what CBP does to include rescue work and crime prevention. “Our primary mission is national security,” he said. “We enforce our immigration laws, but we also work to stop the flow of dangerous narcotics and dangerous people.”