Originally Posted by
law dawg
The main difference isn't where they work, it's the laws they enforce. A CBP officer in the airport utilizes exclusions to keep people out, whereas a BP agent is dealing with someone who has already made an entry (albeit an illegal one) and must therefore use deportation statutes or some form of voluntary return (VR).
I'm afraid that's not really the case. It really is more the place in which they work. At the risk of boring most of the forum with the details of immigration law, of over-simplifying a bit, and of not knowing your background in immigration law...there are two types of removals from the United States as you mentioned: inadmissible aliens are removed under Section 212 of the INA, and deportable aliens are removed under Section 237 of the INA.
Thus, a person who has not been admitted to the United States is subject to the 212 grounds when they are encountered. Such a person includes not only those encountered at the ports of entry, but also a typical EWI (Entry Without Inspection) who crossed the border illegally. The vast majority of BP apprehensions are for EWI's and thus utilize the same set of laws. Additionally, the BP is also now executing Expedited Removals (as Inspections has done for years) so that they can remove aliens administratively without requiring an Immigration Judge.
The Deportation grounds are mostly used by ICE's Investigations and Detention & Removal branches.
I do agree with your premise, however, that the BP uses VR's and Inspections does not. Inspections does have a very similar tool (in some situations) in which a person withdraws their application for admission and agrees to return from whence they came.