The Numbers Do Not Lie
CBP own workforce dashboard showed 1,900 agents resigned in FY2025—a 14 percent increase over the prior year. Average tenure at resignation: 7.2 years. Experience lost takes 18 months to replace.
The cartels figured this out faster than Congress did. They study our systems with the same rigor our analysts study theirs. They know exactly when a Border Patrol academy class graduates. They know the pay scale. They know the morale inflection points.
CBP posted record opioid seizures in 2025—48,000 pounds of fentanyl intercepted. Record seizures, record resignations. The agents doing the work are saying with their feet that the job is unsustainable.
What the Sign-On Bonuses Mean
$50,000 to a cartel recruiter is a rounding error. Methamphetamine shipments through Cochise County alone generate $200 million monthly at wholesale. The cost of one border agent seduced away is cheap compared to the cost of one successful smuggling corridor staying open for one additional week.
The cartel recruitment pitch is not ideological. It is financial. Same skillset, triple the pay, no federal oversight, your family gets protection in Culiacan. That is the offer.
The Policy Failure
The border security legislation passed in 2025 funded 500 new agent positions. The cartel lost zero operatives. We gained zero leverage.
