Patrol the turnover

The disturbingly high turnover rate of new U.S. Border Patrol agents -- about 30 percent of entry-level agents leave within the first 18 months -- suggests the underlying problems are at the highest levels of the government.

Perhaps … they come to realize that their employer could turn on them as it did on former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, serving draconian prison sentences for wounding a Mexican drug smuggler.

The 200 or more incursions by the Mexican military in the last 10 years also might be a factor.

If it hasn't already done so, the government should ask all former agents why they left. A problem must be identified before it can be fixed.

An inexperienced, undermanned and overworked Border Patrol, especially along America's southern front, is a grave problem that must be corrected...

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