Overview:
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United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CBP employees manage, control and protect the nation’s border. CBP’s two main stated goals are anti-terrorism and facilitating legitimate trade and travel. CBP works to protect the U.S from acts of terrorism and reduce the vulnerability to the threat of terrorists through a multi-level inspection process. CBP is also responsible for preventing the transportation of drugs, illegal immigrants, traffickers, prohibited agricultural products and counterfeit goods, money, and intellectual goods across the border. CBP is made up of personnel who were formerly with the U.S customs, U.S Immigration, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the entire U.S Border Patrol.
History:
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The Department of Homeland Security was established on March 1, 2003, including the creation of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP brought together several different organizations with the responsibility of protecting our nation at its borders, including the ports of entry (POEs) and the border areas between the ports. For the first time in U.S. history, a single agency is now responsible for securing our borders. The CBP was the largest reorganization of our Federal Government in over 50 years.
Congress began passing laws limiting immigration in 1882 with the goal of protecting the U.S. labor market from the Chinese and other nationalities that offered cheap labor within the U.S. These restrictions raised the number of migrants attempting to enter the U.S illegally. As a result, the U.S Immigration Service assigned a group of inspectors to patrol and prevent illegal crossings. The Immigration Act of 1917 established a head tax of eight dollars on each immigrant and required them to pass a literacy test. Before this act, Canadians and Mexicans were able to cross the border without any restrictions. New quotas placed on immigration to the U.S by the Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924, along with the act of 1917, fueled illegal entry into the U.S. On May 28, 1924, Congress established the U.S Border Patrol as part of the Immigration Bureau, an arm of the Department of Labor. The Border Patrol at this time consisted of 450 officers whose duties were to stop smugglers, and people harboring or assisting a migrant not admitted by an immigration inspector. In 1932, the Border Patrol was put under the control of two directors, one in charge of the Mexican border office in El Paso, Texas and the other in charge of the Canadian border office in Detroit, Michigan. During WWII the Border Patrol added 712 agents and 57 backup personnel, making a total of 1,531 officers.
During the late 1950s and 1960s it became more common for illegal migrants to enter the U.S by private aircraft, as the threat of aircraft hijacking was the newest threat to U.S security. The Border Patrol also put more focus on intercepting drugs coming from Mexico. As a result of this increase in responsibilities, the Border Patrol increased their amount of officers and brought in the use of modern technologies, including infrared night-vision scopes, seismic sensors, and a modern computer processing system.
After independence, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, along with others who traveled abroad, brought plant material, such as olive trees and rice, back to the United States to develop U.S. agricultural production and to continue to increase the variety of crops available for cultivation. Along with these new, experimental plants came new pests and diseases.
In 1971, the USDA established the Animal and Plant Health Service and in 1972, “Inspection” was added to the name when the inspection of meat and poultry was transferred to the Animal and Plant Health Service, making it APHIS. In 1991, Americans also began deploying overseas to work with foreign counterparts to ensure that they are adhering to the same international plant health standards. In 2003, with the creation of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, approximately 2, 700 employees transferred form the USDA to CBP, most of them inspectors and technicians.
After the U.S declared it independence in 1776, the First Congress passed, and President George Washington signed, the Tariff Act of 1789, authorizing the collection of duties; excise taxes, fees and penalties on imported merchandise, due to the desperate need for revenues. For 125 years Customs has provided a great amount of funding for the entire government. Today customs is still expanding and is a large source of revenue for the U.S federal government.
In 1875 the Supreme Court ruled that immigration was a federal responsibility. The Immigration Act of 1891 established an Office of the Superintendent of Immigration within the Treasury Department. This office was responsible for admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking admission to the United States and for implementing national immigration policy. Immigration became a federal concern to protect American workers and wages. In 1903, the Bureau of Immigration was transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor because immigration had more to do with commerce then revenue. In 1913, the Department of Labor and Commerce reorganized into today’s separate cabinet departments. Laws passed in 1921 and 1924 limited the numbers of newcomers by assigning a quota to each nationality based upon its representation in previous U.S. census figures. Each year, the State Department issued a limited number of visas; only those immigrants who had obtained them and could present valid visas were permitted entry. Congress created a Border Patrol in 1924 within the Immigration Service with the goal of decreasing the number of migrants crossing the U.S border illegally.
In 1965, Congress changed the immigration law to include a preference system designed to attract skilled workers. This change in policy meant that the majority of applications for immigration visas now came from Asia and Central and South America rather than Europe.
The immigration reform and Control Act of 1986 expanded the agency’s responsibilities and made it a law-enforcement agency. The act enabled the agency to enforce sanctions against American employers who hired undocumented aliens.
What it Does:
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CBP assesses all passengers flying, driving, walking or arriving by ships into the U.S from abroad in its search for terrorist risks, drugs, illegal immigration, traffickers, prohibited agricultural products and counterfeit goods. CBP has several initiatives in place that help to identify both people and cargo that may pose a threat to the safety of the U.S.
CBP has four major programs:
Under the Container Security Initiative (CSI), CBP works together with other nations to identify and pre-screen containers that pose a risk at foreign ports of departure before they are loaded and shipped to the U.S. CSI currently operates in 58 ports, as of October 2007, In Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North, Central and South America.
C-TPAT works with more than 7,600 companies, including United States importers, customs brokers, terminal operators, carriers and foreign manufactures. CBP refers to C-TPAT as the most successful government-private partnerships to emerge after 9/11 and claims global supply chains are more secure today as a result of C-TPAT.
This initiative works to protect America’s Ports of Entry (POE) by deterring potential threats, and unauthorized people and goods. It also collects any taxes, duties and fees. Every year CBP processes nearly half a billion people, 130 million trucks and cars, and 20 million cargo containers at ports of entry.
Securing Entry Points (PDF)
National Border Patrol Strategy
This strategy’s main goal is to have operational control of the borders of the United States, especially the land borders with Canada and Mexico. The Border Patrol has partnered with other law enforcement agencies, such as the U.S Coast Guard, the National Service, ICE, the FBI and the DEA.
Controversies:
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CBP’s Border Patrol is in charge of stopping crimes such as bribery, drug trafficking and migrant smuggling. Yet, according to an article posted in the Miami Herald on March 4, 2008, there have been several charges against CBP officers for committing those crimes themselves and enabling drug transactions to continue. In February 2008, for example, a Customs and Border Protection Officer at Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport was charged with conspiring to assist a New York “drug ring” that was under investigation by tapping into federal databases.
In another case, a six-year veteran of the CBP, Elizabeth Moran-Toala, was allegedly was tapping into CBP’s electronic database that is used to stop illegal drug imports (Treasury Enforcement Communications System). Moran-Toala tapped into the database several times to give information to a Delta Airlines baggage handler who was helping a “drug ring” import cocaine and heroin on flights from the Dominican Republic to New York. Moran-Toala’s case was sent to New York for prosecution in February 2008.
There have been several cases in South Florida of CBP officers and agents accepting illegal payoffs for migrant smuggling, drug trafficking, witness tampering and embezzlement.
Crimes by Homeland Security agents stir alert (Jay Weaver and Alfonso Chardy, Miami Herald)
Gaps within security
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), at least 21,000 people who shouldn’t have been admitted into the U.S in 2006 were mistakenly allowed through official ports of entry. Richard Stana, the author of the GAO report, said that most of the people wrongly let in were economic migrants and did not pose a threat to national security. However, terrorists are not the only dangers and threats crossing our borders. Economic migrants and others who are wrongly admitted can be affiliated with drug smuggling and other criminal activities that impact U.S citizens and their security. The GAO also reported a management weakness within CBP. Investigators arrived at one point of entry with no border agents in the inspections booth and at another location agents did not even ask to look at their travel documents.
In May 2005, Congressional investigators reported several problems within both the C-TPAT and CSI programs among America’s Ports of Entry (POE). The General Accountability Office stated that 1/3 of U.S.-bound shipments were not reviewed for inspection, displaying a large gap in security among global chains. Another gap was found among ports in the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa, where little if any screening takes place. These ports account for 20% of containers going into the U.S. Kim Peterson, President of SeaSecure LLC, the nation’s largest maritime security consulting company, believes that, “Al-Qaida can go to the Customs Web Site, identify which ports are in CSI partnership and pick a port in the developing world to ship a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) to Miami, New York or Los Angeles.” Even among the ports that are in partnership with CSI, terrorists have the ability to pick a well-known company find one of their poorly paid truck drivers, give a good bribe and smuggle what they wish. This is possible because CSI’s “trusted shippers,” the majority of which are the well-know companies, receive little or no inspection.
Border Security: Despite Progress, Weaknesses in Traveler Inspections Exist at Our Nation’s Ports of Entry (GAO) (PDF)
Experts: Controversy distraction from real threats: Gaps in inspection of cargo coming into U.S. ports, a process handled by domestic authorities, not Arab-owned terminal managers, poses the greatest threat to domestic security. (by Steve Huettel, St. Petersburg Times)
Violation of Privacy
Several congressional leaders, travel executives and European leaders argue that CBP’s program, Automated Targeting System (ATS) invades people’s privacy and violates the privacy agreement between the U.S and the European Union. Through ATS, CBP has been assigning travelers on internal flights, both American and foreign, different scores designed to identify high-risk travelers. Opponents of this program are requesting that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suspend the program until privacy concerns can be addressed. Several authorities have objected to the fact that individuals have no way of knowing if they have been flagged as a risk to U.S security. CBP also shares information with other government agencies, other governments and with private contractors. Almost all public mention of ATS, refers to its scrutiny of cargo shipments, with little or no mention of its tracking of people.
Dispute over 'terror scores' for airline travelers: Supporters of the federal system say it's necessary in the terror war. Privacy advocates aren't persuaded. (by Alexandra Marks, Christian Science Monitor)
- Table of Contents
- Overview
- History
- What it Does
- Where Does the Money Go
- Controversies
- Suggested Reforms
- Comments
- Leave a Comment
Founded: March 1, 2003
Annual Budget: $8.46 billion (2008)
Employees: 46,000+
Official Website: http://www.cbp.gov/
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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