Immigration Officer: A Rewarding Career Path for Students - Essay Sample

Introduction

The immigration officer is the best career path that almost every student wants to major in or either expects to develop and grow in the process. Most of the immigration officers are found within the government entity or agency, and most are under the department of homeland security (DHS) in the United States. In America, the immigration officers are required to assess different aspects of the migration process and also analyze the research or data of United States immigration laws and regulations (Garcia, 2017). Immigration officers are mostly supposed to have done the criminology or law related course to continue serving the country and have to take an oath.

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The main reasons as to why am interested in immigration officer career are because it gives an individual an excellent opportunity to serve the country and be able to help few individuals from minority ethnicities who are unable to acquire or enter the country due to some their cultural background or lack of financial support (Loue, 2018). From personal experience, I have friends at school whose relatives have been denied access to healthcare facilities or services because of their immigration status since some are in the United States illegally, and they fear that once they approach the hospitals or medical services, they might be deported to their countries.

Both negative and positive trends mostly face the immigration officer. For instance, the immigration officer might be faced with strict policies such as those of diplomatic responsibilities where an individual is supposed to travel to a different country, which is a war-prone zone. However, migration officers can be trusted by the government to allow immigration to a particular level depending on the immigrant’s qualifications so that they contribute a lot towards the development of the economy.

Career Path Section

The immigration officer is a type of profession that requires an individual to go through some stages to become an expert in immigration matters fully. For instance, at first, an individual is expected to start as a trainee or an intern then later can progress to an entry position within the government’s agency. Once a person is in an entry position, there are job or performance evaluations that are done within the immigration office so that a person can also receive a promotion to becoming a senior immigration officer in the country to manage and control the national matters concerning immigration procedures.

However, before the advancement of immigration officers to other positions or higher ranking requires the extra addition of skills and credentials to prove to the government that a person is competent to handle the office. In the United States, a person should have a minimum education qualification of a bachelor's degree and have some experience in the government, which aids the government in developing trust in their immigration officers ("How to Become an Immigration Officer | Search Schools," 2020). Last but not least, the research and data analysis skills are added advantage towards the career path growth of the immigration officer whenever they are in the office or within their line of duty.

I know one of the immigration officers in the neighborhood who is always encouraging me and giving out the best advice to progress in working extra hard to achieve my career goals. One of the best information ever given is that for one to become an immigration officer with a good reputation, they should always practice fairness or justice when attending to the clients to avoid biasing or committing a crime such as corruption, which can end someone’s career.

Specific Job

After graduation, I would love to apply for the immigration officer internship opportunity as an immigration enforcement agent to be able to gain some of the necessary skills and experience needed in this career path. The immigration enforcement agents work under the immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) so that they can enforce some legal laws against the illegal aliens ("How to Become an Immigration Officer | Search Schools," 2020). The uniformed ICE agents make sure that they research and investigate reports and cases of illegal immigrants and, after identifying them, then decide to apprehend them when necessary.

The immigration officers’ salaries are published in the United States office of Personnel Management. Moreover, the wages begin at the grade three employees who later advance to class 10, where they have a difference of 10 steps in each grade salaries. For instance, the category three employees who are at step one gets $26,208 per year that is per 2012, whereas grade ten employees who are at level ten earns $61,031 yearly (Garcia, 2017). However, to account for the differences in the cost of living, there is allocation of location pay; for instance, per the year 2012, the employee was offered 35 percent on top of their average salaries.

One of the amusing things about the immigration officer job position is because it offers an individual a platform to showcase their skills in diverse cultural settings. However, there are some of the things that are unpleasant about being an immigration officer and are personal safety because one is not guaranteed of their safety when they deny people the opportunity of staying or entering the United States border.

References

Garcia, R. M. U. (2017). A Quantitative Study: Immigration Officers' Job Satisfaction in a Strained Political Climate (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).

How to Become an Immigration Officer | Search Schools. Criminal Justice Programs. (2020). Retrieved 11 June 2020, from https://www.criminaljusticeprograms.com/specialty/immigration-officer/.

Loue, S. (2018). Legal Issues Working with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylees. In Legal Issues in Social Work Practice and Research (pp. 233-251). Springer, Cham.