CBP and Marines test their border readiness

U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Marines tested their readiness at Calexico Downtown new port of entry on Friday morning.

U.S.B.P. Public Information Officer Anthony Garcia said, “We have a responsibility to train with other CBP components to ensure that we can help each other out.”

Nearly 100 agents and soldiers took part in the exercise.

“We had CBP from all over El Centro and county, and we had added support from the Marines,” Garcia said.

The training involved crowd control and formations, among other things, Garcia explained.

“We continually assess the capabilities of our facilities and the capabilities of our CBP personnel,” Garcia said.

Garcia said the training is not related to a caravan of migrants believed to come from Central America with the intention of crossing the U.S. border. But rather, he said, it’s part of border security training in general.

“CBP holds the safety of the American people, the traveling public, our officers, and the community,” Garcia said.

Garcia explained that it was an opportunity for them to improve teamwork among other border security agencies.

“It is important for our officers to be trained in any difficult situation that we face every day,” Garcia concluded.

The exercise lasted about 26 minutes affecting northbound traffic only at the downtown port of entry.