Author: Joseph Banco

During World War II, the United States Border Patrol was given enormous responsibilities in not only securing our borders and defending the American people, but in securing those designated as enemy aliens and protecting diplomats from the Axis powers. The expansion of the traditional duties of the U.S. Border Patrol was based on its transfer to the Department
of Justice and the trust placed in the organization by leadership at the highest levels of the government. It was a time when Border Security became National Security and the U.S. Border Patrol was recognized as America’s first line of defense.

In HONOR FIRST: Securing Enemy Aliens – The U.S. Border Patrol During World War II the story will be told of a little known and often times mischaracterized period in our history. From running enemy alien detention camps to conducting coastal submarine patrols, capturing escaped prisoners of war and escorting enemy aliens from Latin America, to securing Axis Diplomats and their families, the U.S. Border Patrol played a vital role in the war effort.