I have been to Mexico my fair share of times and seen the numerous border patrol cars along the way.

I thought they just sat around on roadsides, frequented gas stations, and made my border crossing more difficult – that was until I rode along with them for a day.

Within 10 minutes of reaching the border in the desert near Nogales, Sonora, I saw a distracter attempt to lure agents away from another group trying to hop the fence by throwing rocks at them. A bit later, I was shown a room with approximately 3,400 pounds of marijuana that carried a street value of $2.72 million. The marijuana had been confiscated from crossers over a two-day period. I soon realized that being a border patrol agent is not for the faint of heart.

“I remember one of my favorite calls was while I was sitting on a hill eating lunch just looking through my binoculars,” said Michael Scioli, a border patrol agent.

“I saw a large group of people walking through the area, so I called for backup. We were too busy and no one could come help. I decided to take it on my own. I left my lunch there for the ants and followed the group, ran up on them and got 27 down on the ground.”

Scioli said that while some people ran, the ones who did not were cooperative. He said the key was letting them know who was in charge and not hesitating.

“People — especially the smugglers — pick up on hesitation and they will make a move,” he said. “Our guns only have 12 bullets, so you have to know how to be in total control of a situation like that.”

Scioli is one of approximately 3,300 agents in the Tucson sector, which covers 90,500 square miles with eight stations. These agents also man 202 linear miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Tucson sector of Border Patrol is the busiest in the country. In the 2007 Fiscal year 307,800 people were arrested and 897,000 pounds of marijuana, approximately 2,600 pounds a day, were taken into custody. In 2008, 817,000 pounds of marijuana was taken, and for the beginning of 2009, they have seized 30,240 pounds of marijuana.

However, an agent’s job is more than just catching illegal aliens and drugsmugglers.

“We do a lot of rescues too, especially in the summer,” Scioli said. “We really have three roles as agents. The first is the enforcer – we stop the threat of terror and illegals from entering the country. Second, we are rescuers. A lot of people who are crossing are told by their smugglers that Phoenix is only three miles from the border. We have rescued over 460 last year in life or death situations. The last is a humanitarian. We feel for people. Some want to have the American dream, and we recognize that, but there are still criminals.”

The criminals he is referring to make up 17 percent of the illegal immigrants caught trying to cross the border. That amounts to approximately 316,000 last year. These criminals are ones who have been convicted of major crimes and have records in the U.S. for things like sex offenses, molesting children, kidnapping, homicide, robbery and weapons and drug charges.

It is not just criminals- trying to come across though; terrorism is always a threat on the border.

“Terrorist organizations have a lot of money,” Scioli said. “If regular people can get across like that, determined terrorists can, too.”

Aside from working directly on the border, agents also man checkpoints in the region, patrol some border cities on bicycles and ATVs and work in stations dealing with the aftermath of catching people -- or drugs.

Daniel Rodriguez, a border patrol agent who works in the Nogales station, explained that there is more to the job than just catching people.

“The day starts with a briefing and area assignment,” Rodriguez said.

“Everyone on that shift goes into (the) briefing room and they are given information from agents on the previous shift that they need to know.”

Next, the agents are issued their equipment, which includes the car they will drive, guns, binoculars, night vision and any other tools they may need on their shift.

Some agents are sent to work in the holding area. This is where illegal immigrants are held and processed. There are cells for men, women, juveniles and known criminals.

In this area, they are fingerprinted and their deportation history is looked up in order to decide if the immigrant will be prosecuted.

During the summer months, the Nogales sector makes use of a cage-like area made of fencing that houses 600 immigrants while they are being processed. All the other stations in the sector transport the people they catch to Nogales so they can focus their manpower on catching people and drugs.

Another area that agents can be sent to work in is the drug room. This was one of the most prominent parts of the ride-along because you can smell marijuana from a couple of rooms over.

Twice a week, the DEA picks up any confiscated drugs to destroy them. Before this happens though, they are held in the secured room at the station. No employee can enter the room alone, and everyone who enters must sign in and out of a log book.

After witnessing what border patrol agents do in only a few hours, it became obvious to me that there job was far more than sitting around, waiting. They are constantly on the move checking sensors, chasing people, dealing with violence and going through the bureaucracy that goes along with catching illegal immigrants. Their job is different every day.

Scioli said that as long as the desire to cross is there, the agents’ jobs will be ever changing.

“People have the desire to cross for various reasons,” Scioli said.

“Some want to come across to find work and a better life. However, as long as narcotics are selling for the prices they are, like marijuana for $800 a pound or cocaine for $15,000 an ounce— people will try to bring it across the border. And as long as people are paying smugglers the rates they are now, which are $500 to $1,500 a person, they will be trying to cross the border. We have to be ready for anything. No two days are the exact same.”