By Rob Margetta, CQ Staff

Tougher economic times are giving Customs and Border Protection a bigger pool of potential border patrol agents from which to choose while simultaneously reducing the rate of illegal border crossings.

CBP set an all-time record for border patrol applications last week, receiving 6,000, according to agency officials who briefed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday.

“I think that we’ll continue to see that as a trend.” said Chris Gaugler, CBP’s assistant commissioner for human resources management.

Agency Commissioner Ralph Basham said CBP plans to take advantage of the surplus of applicants in its efforts to add 11,300 people to its 53,000-employee roster this year.

“There are some good things that come out of the downturn of the economy,” he said.

Officials also said a drop in attempted border crossings is likely linked to the economy. According to CBP statistics, activity at the border is down 21 percent compared with the same time last year.

“I think we have to move and take advantage of that,” Napolitano said.

Later, she said that a decrease in available jobs that attract illegal immigration from across the southern border — including construction work — has resulted in a lessened incentive for crossings.

“I think one of the reasons we’ve seen a pretty significant decrease in illegal immigrants crossing over is that the jobs on this side have decreased,” she said.

She said the economy will rebound but, while there is a lull, DHS should take the opportunity to build up its border resources and strategy.

Rob Margetta can be reached at rmargetta@cq.com.