ARTESIA, N.M. (Reuters) - At a training facility in the middle of a desert in New Mexico, aspiring border patrol agent Stevany Shakare sprinted laps in 103-degree Fahrenheit weather as her instructors shouted at her to run faster.
Shakare, a 23-year-old from Iraq, is one of three women in a class of 20 at the U.S. Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, New Mexico. They are powering through an intensive 112-day training programme, in which agents must master firearms, high-speed, off-road vehicle chases, immigration law, conversational Spanish and grueling physical tests.