In July, Border Patrol Agent Christian Sanchez of Port Angeles told the not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation Advisory Committee on Transparency in Washington, D.C., that the Port Angeles Border Patrol station where he works is an overstaffed “black hole” with “no purpose, no mission.”

Sanchez came forward last month at a gathering sponsored by the Advisory Committee on Transparency, an open-government group in Washington, D.C., claiming that the Port Angeles Border Patrol office was a “black hole” with “no mission, no purpose” for the more than 40 agents — 10 times the number it had in 2006 — who patrol Clallam and Jefferson counties.

"There's nothing to do," Border Patrol agent Christian Sanchez said during a July event in Washington on government whistle-blowers. "There are no gangs or cross-border activity. I haven't seen it."

Sanchez told the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a forum funded by the not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation, he never intended to become a whistle-blower, but decided to speak out publicly after he felt his complaints about the Port Angeles station's "lack of mission" were being brushed aside by supervisors.

"There's nothing to do," Border Patrol agent Christian Sanchez said during a July event in Washington on government whistle-blowers. "There are no gangs or cross-border activity. I haven't seen it."

Sanchez told the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a forum funded by the not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation, he never intended to become a whistle-blower, but decided to speak out publicly after he felt his complaints about the Port Angeles station's "lack of mission" were being brushed aside by supervisors.

"There's nothing to do," Border Patrol agent Christian Sanchez said during a July event in Washington on government whistle-blowers. "There are no gangs or cross-border activity. I haven't seen it."
Sanchez told the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a forum funded by the not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation, he never intended to become a whistle-blower, but decided to speak out publicly after he felt his complaints about the Port Angeles station's "lack of mission" were being brushed aside by supervisors.

Seattle Weekly has a piece about the Border patrol whistleblower who spoke at the July Advisory Committee on Transparency event:

One of the things that seems so curious about the Border Patrol's dramatic expansion since 9/11, the subject of my July 27 cover story ... is all the money that the agency is pouring into places that are so far from the border. The people I spoke with told me that agents just seemed to be looking for something to do in order to justify all the extra cash they were receiving—and now a Border Patrol whistleblower from Port Angeles has stepped forward with a jaw-dropping affirmation of that view.

"During our work shifts, other agents and I always talked about how coming to work was like the black hole, swallowing us up slowly with no purpose, no mission," said agent Christian Sanchezin a statement he read at a Washington, D.C., forum last Friday put on by the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a project of the nonprofit Sunlight Foundation.

Seattle Weekly's Daily Weekly blog has a post about last Friday's Advisory Committee on Transparency event put on by the Sunlight Foundation:

One of the things that seems so curious about the Border Patrol's dramatic expansion in recent years, the subject of our cover story this week, is all the money that the agency is pouring into places that make no sense given their distance from the border. Our sources told us that agents seemed to be looking for something to do--and now a Border Patrol whistleblower from Port Angeles has stepped forward with a jaw-dropping affirmation of that view.

"During our work shifts, other agents and I always talked about how coming to work was like the black hole, swallowing us up slowly with no purpose, no mission," said agent Christian Sanchez in a statement he read at a Washington, D.C., forum on Friday put on by the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a project of the nonprofit Sunlight Foundation.

The Peninsula Daily News has a follow up article about the Advisory Committee on Transparency event that was put on by the Sunlight Foundation:

Sanchez, a Border Patrol agent for eight years, released a lengthy statement Friday in Washington, D.C., as a panelist at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a project of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation.

The committee and the foundation say they work for greater openness in government.

The advisory committee had asked Sanchez to appear at the request of the Government Accountability Project, a whistle-blower advocacy organization with whom Richmond has worked.

Richmond said he has discussed the case with staff from U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington state and Dicks, who represents Clallam and Jefferson counties.

The Peninsula Daily News writes about the statements of the Border Patrol agent Christian Sanchez at the Sunlight Foundation's Advisory Committee on Transparency meeting:

A U.S. Border Patrol agent said the Port Angeles station is a “black hole” where agents have “no purpose, no mission,” yet are told to work overtime to simply justify its expanding budget.

Port Angeles-based Agent Christian Sanchez told the Advisory Committee on Transparency on Friday in Washington, D.C., that agents who cover the North Olympic Peninsula are ordered to work at least 10-hour shifts even when there’s no work to do and that he has faced retaliation for speaking out against this practice.

The government watchdog group is run by the Sunlight Foundation and advises the Congressional Transparency caucus.

Additionally, Sanchez said, the agents — now numbering 40 — have little relevant work to perform and sometimes pass time by simply driving around the Olympic Peninsula, what agents call the “Baja 500.”

The Peninsula Daily News writes about the statements of the Border Patrol agent Christian Sanchez at the Sunlight Foundation's Advisory Committee on Transparency meeting:

A U.S. Border Patrol agent said the Port Angeles station is a “black hole” where agents have “no purpose, no mission,” yet are told to work overtime to simply justify its expanding budget.

Port Angeles-based Agent Christian Sanchez told the Advisory Committee on Transparency on Friday in Washington, D.C., that agents who cover the North Olympic Peninsula are ordered to work at least 10-hour shifts even when there’s no work to do and that he has faced retaliation for speaking out against this practice.

The government watchdog group is run by the Sunlight Foundation and advises the Congressional Transparency caucus.

Additionally, Sanchez said, the agents — now numbering 40 — have little relevant work to perform and sometimes pass time by simply driving around the Olympic Peninsula, what agents call the “Baja 500.”

The Washington Post has a column about Christian Sanchez, a whistleblower and Border Patrol agent, who is presenting his story at the Sunlight Foundation's ACT event on Capitol Hill today.

Sanchez prepared his statement for a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a project of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation. The committee and the foundation work for greater openness in government. One of the committee’s events is Friday’s panel discussion on “Making Whistleblowing Work,” to be held at the Rayburn House Office Building.

Sanchez contends that his bosses “want to create their own kingdom. The spending is to expand bureaucratic turf, not to protect our nation.”

After speaking out against the unnecessary overtime, Sanchez said, he became a target of harassment. Days off were not allowed, temporary assignments as shift supervisor were denied and urine drug tests were ordered. “The most ironic harassment,” he said, “has been removing my duties as Chaplain.”

CNN aired a story about alleged waste at a Border Patrol station in Washington state, including video of from the Sunlight Foundation of whistleblower Christian Sanchez speaking at the Advisory Committee on Transparency's July event:

"There's nothing to do," Border Patrol agent Christian Sanchez said during a July event in Washington on government whistle-blowers. "There are no gangs or cross-border activity. I haven't seen it."

Sanchez told the Advisory Committee on Transparency, a forum funded by the not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation, he never intended to become a whistle-blower, but decided to speak out publicly after he felt his complaints about the Port Angeles station's "lack of mission" were being brushed aside by supervisors. Sanchez told the panel he ran afoul of supervisors for refusing overtime he didn't feel he was entitled to since, he said, there was so little work to do.

The Seattle Times prints an article about Border Patrol whistleblower's allegations and mention that he recently spoke at an Advisory Committee on Transparency event:

"There's no real reason for anyone to be bored up here," Port Angeles Border Patrol station supervisor Agent Jose Romero said — without mentioning Christian Sanchez, another agent, who last month called the Port Angeles Border Patrol office a "black hole."

At a gathering last month sponsored by a Washington, D.C., open-government group, the Advisory Committee on Transparency, Sanchez said the office had "no mission, no purpose" for its more than 40 agents — 10 times as many as in 2006.

Peninsula Daily News has an article about a Border Patrol agent that presented at the Sunlight Foundation's Advisory Committee on Transparency:

A U.S. Border Patrol supervising agent told a Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce audience Monday that there is plenty for his agents to do on the North Olympic Peninsula — despite another agent’s assertion to the contrary...

During his 45-minute presentation, Romero said the agency focuses on domestic terrorism, narcotics trafficking and contraband in a coverage area that includes Clallam and Jefferson counties.

Sanchez came forward last month at a gathering sponsored by the Advisory Committee on Transparency, an open-government group in Washington, D.C., claiming that the Port Angeles Border Patrol office was a “black hole” with “no mission, no purpose” for the more than 40 agents — 10 times the number it had in 2006 — who patrol Clallam and Jefferson counties.

Peninsula Daily News wrote another story about the Border Control whistleblower that mentions the Sunlight Foundation:

“We’ll briefly review the many actions and events of the summer of 2011 — from the courageous whistle-­blowing by Border Patrol Agent Sanchez to the tragic death of Benjamin Salinas,” Danks said in an email.

Sanchez told the not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation Advisory Group on Transparency in Washington, D.C., on July 29 that he never intended to become a whistle-blower but decided to speak out publicly after he felt his complaints about the Port Angeles station’s “lack of mission” were being brushed aside by supervisors.

Peninsula Daily News wrote a brief story about the CNN story that mentions the Sunlight Foundation Advisory Committee on Transparency:

Sanchez told the not-for-profit Sunlight Foundation Advisory Group on Transparency in Washington, D.C., on July 29 that he never intended to become a whistle-blower, but decided to speak out publicly after he felt his complaints about the Port Angeles station's “lack of mission” were being brushed aside by supervisors.

The Peninsula Daily News (WA) writes again about waste at a Border Patrol station and quotes whistleblower Christian Sanchez's words at the Sunlight Foundation's Advisory Committee on Transparency event in July:

Port Angeles Border Patrol Agent Christian Sanchez told the Advisory Committee on Transparency on July 20 that the Port Angeles station is a “black hole” staffed by more than 40 agents “with no purpose, no mission.”

Behan said he will ask Bates how many agents staff the Port Angeles station and may ask for arrest data. That information may not be made public, Behan said.