By Jennie Taer
Published Aug. 16, 2024, 7:17 p.m. ET
The number of US Customs and Border Protection workers who have committed suicide so far this year has almost eclipsed the total number who took their own life in 2023 — as exhausted agents say the crisis at the besieged southern border is taking its toll.
At least seven CBP employees have committed suicide this year, just one less than the eight who took their own life last year — with more than four months still remaining in 2024, CBP’s former “suicidologist,” Dr. Kent Corso, told The Post.
There were also eight suicides in 2020 and 11 in 2021, ABC News previously reported. CBP suffered its worst year in 2022, when 15 employees took their own life, Corso, who left the agency in May, said.
There are 60,000 CBP employees, including around 19,000 Border Patrol agents.
The licensed clinical psychologist and board-certified behavior analyst, who joined CBP in 2021, said there isn’t one main reason for the distressing spike — but that extra stress at work doesn’t help.
