Vincent “Rocco” Vargas was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and went on to serve three combat deployments with the 2nd Battalion of the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. In 2009 Vargas became a Federal Agent with the Department of Homeland Security, and was a medic with the Special Operations Group. After temporarily leaving his federal career for film and television, he returned to the Border Patrol’s Strategic Planning and Analysis Directorate (SPAD) in March 2025—while continuing to work with veterans, and as a writer, entrepreneur and motivational speaker. He runs the popular Borderland and VinnyRoc podcasts.
Vincent Vargas is a giant of a man who fills the screen from his home ‘operations room’ throughout our interview. He refuels on protein bars as we talk, while making it clear just how plausible he was as an army sergeant (in real life) or as the Capitan Del Camino of a fictional outlaw biker gang (on Mayans M.C.). His fame acquired from appearing in films and on TV also guaranteed publicity for his SPAD appointment. While good-humoured—and slightly disappointed he can’t also offer me a protein bar—it’s clear he is entirely serious about going back into homeland security. Could he really be giving up acting to concentrate on a real-life role in Border Patrol?
“That’s not true, man! I’m not near studios or celebrities right now, but I’m still auditioning for films. One day I’ll get myself an agent in Europe too, so watch out, man!”
Clearly it still excites him, but—like his many activities right now—it’s about getting things to fit in with a broader plan:
Acting for me was a shot in the dark, although I would still want to be back in Hollywood telling stories supporting more important messaging. I like that world, although it can’t compare to serving the nation—maybe healing a divided nation—but definitely putting something back into the nation. I don’t care about the Hollywood life, I’m not driven by fame. What I want is what’s good for society, maybe through telling stories—for sure when I get to serve my country.
With a new president, is the work of the Border Patrol getting more or less difficult? Vargas describes the biggest change he has seen since returning to the service: the new administration’s Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. She “feels like an ally backing us up. As an employee it feels good—you feel seen and heard, and backed up.”
Against the backdrop of the Merkel years in Europe, I ask him why borders matter. He is clear and direct: “Borders matter because they can establish a territory you can govern. Borders help us to keep democracy and democratic intentions intact—they help us to know where our rules start for potential Americans. We need to control the flow of people: who is in, who is out. If you lose sight of this, the flow gets let loose on others, where it can cause harm.”
What’s strange is just how controversial this observation has become. Vargas agrees: “Most people would accept this but the problem right now is that the conversation has become very polarising. Right now there are two questions with one answer: is the system fair or not fair? And is the system good for homeland security?”
europeanconservative.com has called the U.S. border a catastrophe. Vargas’s book Borderline: Defending the Home Front (2023) went with “crisis.” But just how bad is the border situation? “Crime aside, the key problem is losing track of undocumented migrants. How can it be improved? I’ve moved into Border Patrol management and program analysis to work on this,” he says.
What would he say were the major changes for the Border Patrol in the 18 months since his book was published?
The Biden administration was not conducive to security, as seen in the wide, blanket acceptance of asylum cases. Politics made it hard for the U.S. Border Patrol to function, as if the government was working against us. There was no stopping absconders, who we couldn’t deport and couldn’t prosecute and hold liable for crossing illegally. People were being taught to cross over and then set themselves up to wait four to six years for a hearing. The loopholes left us with a choice to neglect or ignore. It was weird to just watch four years of borders not existing.
Let’s suppose his team can now finally get the border back under control. Would it then address the question of regularising the migrants who are already there? “It’s been eight years of struggle, with the last four especially hard for the Border Patrol, based on the policy. We got scrutiny under Trump Mark 1 and shown in a negative light in the media. No-one took the position of countering misinformation about the service.” This is where Vargas’ role at the SPAD comes in:
We had to start using social media to tell the story, showing what we exist for. It was important to explain our part—to show society that it needs to protect its borders. Voters were certainly ready for change: it is not polarised at the grass roots, where the question of who is in and who is out of the United States is key.
Cutting out the political polarisation would be a big help, it seems. So with the controversy out of the way, would the Border Patrol be free to focus on cross-border crime? Or the volume of people coming in?
The murders and rape cases are real, becoming part of a national and even world narrative. Not everyone coming in illegally is a bad person but we have to be able to identify which are. This way we have a smart policy, based on what works best. In 2020, one million came in legally and that needs a smart policy too. If Europe wants help with these things, they can call me!”
As far as the U.S. is concerned, Vargas insists that border control is basically a common sense matter.
In terms of my work now, the issue is not divisive if we can educate on how to control and protect. It’s like locking your door at night and giving your permission to the people you want to enter and exit. That’s what I call the micro and macro position. It’s not racist to take sovereignty seriously and take this tale to the public. What I want for the Border Patrol is American common sense, not something harsh or brutal.
Vincent’s mention of racism makes me wonder if his own Hispanic background has led to criticism of his new role in Border Patrol. He laughs. “All the time! But Border Patrol is 60% Hispanic, first and second generation Latin American origin. And they work hard to defend America! Look, my Grandma came here after she’d stolen her sister’s ID—not something I’d recommend! But like I explain in Borderline, in Iraq and Afghanistan and again in Special Ops, I caught people planning terror attacks. And then from what I saw coming up from the south, that was just like on home soil.”
Mention of the former army ranger’s combat experience leads us to talk about Vincent’s continuing voluntary work with fellow veterans. “With Beteran I work on mental health for veterans and first responders. We try to build a community by healing trauma, restoring health first, taking a different approach to medication. It’s about surrounding people with a good working environment. People need to come out of organisations into a good space. You shouldn’t have great structures that leave their people worse than they were when they went in.” It seems to me that being a veteran has ultimately shaped Vargas for the better, and he would want to see this extended to all combat veterans and front-line public servants.
