Joe

Joseph N. Dassaro, a native New Yorker (Long Island), and notably, until May 1, 2005 President of Local 1613 of the National Border Patrol Council, the largest local union representing United States Border Patrol Agents in the nation, until 2006, the eighth largest local federal union in the nation (AFGE), and the largest local union representing federal law enforcement agents. He is a four year veteran of the United States Army and a thirteen-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol (Department of Homeland Security, merged 2003). As a Border Patrol Agent, Mr. Dassaro worked in various capacities including field agent, BORCAP (Border Patrol Criminal Alien Program), and field intelligence. Joe left the Border Patrol to pursue what he calls, “a more practical and satisfying career choice.” Read the press release regarding Joe’s departure by clicking here.

Mr. Dassaro has spoken and written on security issues related to border enforcement and federal personnel matters. In 1995, along with other union officials, Mr. Dassaro publicly accused the defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service of purposefully misleading Congress regarding the effectiveness of border security operations. The disclosure of that information led to the largest investigation into the United States Border Patrol in the history of the agency (the investigation was dubbed: the Gatekeeper Investigation). That same year, Mr. Dassaro launched the Local 1613 website, billed as one of the most controversial union websites in the country, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every month from the entire spectrum of the immigration and security debate.

Click here to read the March 2000 story when Joe called for Chief Luis Barker’s resignation (about 2/3 the way down the page on the right).

In 1996, Mr. Dassaro publicly accused the agency of lowering its recruiting standards for the hiring of new U.S. Border Patrol Agents; resulting in significant reform of hiring standards through Congressional pressure. Joe also provided testimony for Congressional representatives regarding border enforcement issues and federal labor relations. In 2004, Mr. Dassaro published a controversial feature Op Ed article in The San Diego Union Tribune following President Bush’s amnesty announcement. In 2005, the Federal Times published a feature commentary article written by Mr. Dassaro, which focused on the deception and miscalculation of the Bush Administration concerning federal personnel reform and the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

Joe is also the author of On the Border of Cyber Unionism, a chapter in the book: The CyberUnion Handbook (Shostak, February 2002). In 2006, Joe edited a book titled Border Patrol Exam, 3rd Edition (Learning Express LLC, 2006). In 2008, Joe provided consulting work for a new book tentatively titled Border Patrol, scheduled to be published by Learning Express, LLC in late 2009. This book, predominantly an occupational series, will describe life and work as a United States Border Patrol Agent. Joe can also be seen featured in a documentary, currently titled Green Cards for Al Qaeda (Guardhouse Productions). This documentary discloses significant border security flaws that would keep you from sleeping at night. The film has been screened in a number of cities and is currently in final development. In 2008, Joe began consulting with freelance film producers and writers on a screenplay project (conceptual) for a Border Patrol themed film project.

Mr. Dassaro graduated from both the United States Border Patrol Academy and Federal Law Enforcement Academy in 1992. In 2001, Mr. Dassaro graduated with honors from the National Labor College with a B.A. in Labor Studies (Industrial Relations) and was awarded the Distinguished Paper Award for his thesis entitled Defining the Scope of Representation Under the Duty of Fair Representation Doctrine- with Emphasis on the Federal Sector. He completed his final semester of graduate school in 2005 earning a M.A. in Law and Ethics from the University Of Baltimore Yale Gordon School of Liberal Arts (in association with the University of Baltimore School of Law and the National Labor College).