United States Customs and Border Protection
Mr. Angelo, Joseph
CJ 355
Jonathan Mesngon
July 20, 2014

Abstract

This paper explores an overview of the mission and the overall organization of the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). It will also discuss the roles and responsibilities of the organization, its history, and how they support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This paper will provide you with facts, highlights, and challenges germane to CBP. You will understand how CBP interacts and operates with the intelligence community and the Armed Forces in order to meet up to their responsibilities.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection
History
The origin of Customs and Border Protection can be dated back as early as the mid-1789, when U.S. congress passed the third of three acts that provided for administering customs tariffs and collecting duties. The Tariff Act of July 4, 1789 had also been passed by Congress followed by the Duties on Tonnage statute on July 20. Another landmark in the history of CBP is the establishment of the 1891 Immigration Act, which created the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration in the Treasury Department. The act allowed for the superintendent to have oversight of the new corps of immigrant inspectors stationed at the country’s principal ports of entry (CBP.Gov, 2014).
On May 28, 1924, Congress established the Border Patrol as part of the Immigration Bureau in the Department of Labor through the Labor Appropriation Act of 1924 (CBP.Gov, 2014). The Border Patrol department became the more well-known of them all by majority Americans; they have been responsible for making our territorial lines secure. The attack of 9/11 has transformed the Border Patrol office by emerging the office into the Department of Homeland Security, in turn aligning with its historic partner, “Customs” (Nemeth, 2013, p. 370).
About ten years ago, employees from four different agencies, united by the threat of imminent terrorism, came together to establish the world’s first comprehensive border enforcement and facilitation agency known as the United States Customs and Border Protection agency. CBP became responsible for protecting our country from all threats, with antiterrorism being its top priority. CBP has supplemented and strengthened DHS’ multilayered approach to security. Through the unprecedented deployments of personnel, technology, infrastructure, and other resources, DHS has strengthened security across all U.S. borders (Aguilar, 2013). Mission. Customs and Border Protection is the guardians of our nation’s borders and is the frontline for America. They are to safeguard American homeland at and beyond our borders and protect the public against terrorists and the instruments of terror. CBP enforces the laws of the United States while raising our nation’s economic security through lawful international trade and travel. The agency serves the American public with vigilance, integrity and professionalism (CBP.GOV, 2014). CBP’s duty is an astonishing duty with coverage areas that are almost impossible to cover. American geography makes the task overwhelming due to its size; however with the increasing usage of technology and aircraft tools, our border protection has improved dramatically. There are multiple departments that make up CBP and all of them play a vital role in securing our border and the nation’s security. CBP is responsible for protecting about 7,000 miles of land border the United States shares with Canada and Mexico and 2,000 miles of coastal waters surrounding the Florida peninsula and the coast of Southern California (Nemeth, 2013, p. 370).
Scope. Customs and Border Protection is the world's first full-service border entity and is responsible for enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws and regulations. CBP is one of the world's largest law enforcement organizations with nearly more than 60,000 employees. The organization takes an all-inclusive approach to border management and control, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection into one coordinated and supportive activity. On a normal day, CBP welcomes nearly 1 million visitors, screens more than 67,000 cargo containers, arrests more than 1,100 individuals and seizes nearly 6 tons of illicit drugs. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. while aiding the lawful international travel and trade (CBP.GOV, 2014).
Organization
From the top of the chart, Commissioner Kerlikowske oversees the dual U.S. Customs and Border Protection mission of protecting national security objectives while promoting economic prosperity and security, while Acting Deputy Commissioner McAleenan is the chief operating official of the 60,000-employee border agency. As the Chief of Staff of CBP, Dr. Kimberly O'Connor is responsible for supporting the Commissioner in carrying out CBP's vital mission of guarding our nation's borders. The mission of these the 60,000 well-trained and dedicated CBP employees is overseen by 14 assistant commissioners, who lead organizations in law enforcement, regulatory, intelligence, technology and other support efforts. The office of the commissioner also oversees executive offices that provide an array of expertise from policy and planning to trade relations and privacy and civil rights (see Appendix A for CBP organizational chart). Within DHS, the organizational structure of the Office of the Secretary was altered under the provisions of the act; the secretary oversees and provides leadership in all facets of the homeland defense and protection. Presently, the following departments that answer directly to the secretary of DHS are: Privacy Office; Office of the Inspector General; Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman; Office of Legislative Affairs; and the Office of General Counsel. After 2003, CBP along with other external agencies were swept into DHS during the reorganization phase. The intent was to combine, blend, and synthesize appropriate agency’s functions with the appropriate office and for the most part, DHS remained largely intact (see Appendix B for DHS organizational chart).
Roles and Responsibilities Various departments of the CBP manifest the overall mission of the agency in order to approach homeland security from two distinct directions. The first concern of CBP is the threat of terrorism and the paths of entry the terrorist may follow into America, as well as the influx of illegal immigration. The other concern for CBP is the intricacies of travel and trade due to its responsibility for cargo and port, commerce and revenue collection. CBP understands its role and realizes that the agency plays a critical role in the movement of goods and services (Nemeth, 2013, p. 373). CBP evaluates 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 (Wallechinsky, 2014). 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. Some of those initiatives are: Container Security Initiative (CSI); Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT); Secure Border Initiative (SBI); and Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) (Nemeth, 2013). 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. As of October 2007, CSI operates in 58 ports include Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North, Central and South America (Wallechinsky, 2014). CSI directly supports the priority mission of CBP by preventing and deterring terrorist use of maritime containers through the facilitation and maintenance of legitimate trade. CSI enhances the capability of CBP to target and examine sea cargo, and if necessary, respond to the presence of weapons grade materials without disrupting the vital flow of cargo through United States seaports (EPIC.Org, 2006, p. 3). The CSI Strategic Plan relies on a multi-layered approach consisting of three goals: (1). Secure U.S. borders against terrorists and terrorist weapons by evaluating all containers bound for the United States for terrorist risk before landing at CSI ports; (2). Build a robust CSI cargo security system that will withstand a terrorist incident and ensure a continuous flow of trade, or promptly resume trade through CSI ports, should a terrorist event occur; and (3). Protect and facilitate the movement of legitimate trade by maintaining effectively operating CSI ports, working with host nations to inspect all containers identified as posing a potential terrorist risk and providing benefits and incentives to international governments and organizations, as well as to our trading partners (EPIC.Org, 2006, pp. 4-5).
SFI. This initiative evaluates the capabilities for large-scale radiation scanning of cargo before entering the United States; it is currently operating at less than a dozen foreign ports with a goal to fully scan all inbound cargo. The stress of the initiative is nuclear and radiological materials that might be employed as WMD. While SFI operates in selected foreign ports, it also integrates new data into the U.S. government screening and targeting systems, including the proposed new U.S. CBP security filing, as well as the creation of a proposed private sector operated Global Trade Exchange (GTX) (Nemeth, 2013, pp. 382-383).
Workforce Overview U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the largest law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security with more than 60,000 employees serving both nationwide and overseas. In general, CBP has two categories of careers: the Frontline Law Enforcement and Mission Critical Occupations; and the Operational and Mission Support Positions (CBP.Gov, 2014). Majority of the workforce serves on the frontline, which includes over 20,000 Border Patrol Agents that are protecting the 1,900 miles of border along Mexico and 5,000 miles of border along Canada. There are more than 20,000 CBP Officers ensuring our Nation’s safety by screening passengers and cargo at over 300 ports; nearly 1,000 Air and Marine Interdiction Agents that utilize their specialized training and high-tech equipment to prevent people, weapons, narcotics, and conveyances from illegal entry by air and water. CBP also has over 2,200 CBP Agriculture Specialists who work to curtail the spread of harmful pests and plant and animal diseases that may harm America's farms and food supply, and to avert bio- and agro-terrorism (CBP.Gov, 2014).
Every organization needs a supporting cast and for CBP, they have over 8,000 employees working in support of their frontline occupations. Then there is the Operational support that consists of intelligence research specialists, sector enforcement specialists, paralegals, and CBP Technicians; And the Mission support cast that includes: IT specialists, management analysts, contract specialists, human resource specialists, mission support specialists, mechanics, budget analysts, purchasing agents, and security specialists (CBP.Gov, 2014).
Leadership
Mr. R. Gil Kerlikowske is a highly educated commissioner that has decades of experience that follows his tenure while serving in the government. It is no secret on why President Obama nominated him to be the CBP Commissioner back in March 7, 2014. Mr. Kerlikowske oversees the dual U.S. Customs and Border Protection mission of protecting national security objectives while promoting economic prosperity and security. He also runs the largest law enforcement agency and second largest revenue collecting source in the federal government. The Commissioner has served in numerous well-known leadership positions, the most recent being a Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (CBP.Gov, 2014). Commissioner Kerlikowske brings four decades of law enforcement and drug policy experience to the current position; he formerly served nine years as the Chief of Police for Seattle, Washington, leaving the city with the crime at its lowest point. He was elected twice to be President of the Major Cities Chiefs, which represents the largest city and county law enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada. Not only does he continue to serve the nation as CBP’s Commissioner, he had also served in the military and earned the Presidential Service Badge. His educational background consists of a B.A. and a M.A. in criminal justice from the University of South Florida (CBP.Gov, 2014). Another decorated and highly skilled person that is fit for the position of Acting Deputy Commissioner is, Kevin K. McAleenan. Acting Deputy Commissioner McAleenan has served in numerous leadership positions that include: Acting Assistant Commissioner of the CBP Office of Field Operations and Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Field Operations between July 2010 and December 2011. While serving in these positions, he had oversight of more than 28,000 employees, 20 major field offices, 329 ports of entry, and an operating budget of more than $3.5 billion. Prior to his positions with the CBP Field Operations, he served in several leadership capacities at CBP and the former U.S. Customs Service (CBP.Gov, 2014). In the aftermath of 9/11, McAleenan played an integral role in the development and implementation of CBP’s antiterrorism strategy; he was later was named Director of the Office of Anti-Terrorism. In 2005, McAleenan was awarded the Service to America Medal, Call to Service Award and was selected as a member of the Senior Executive Service in 2006. McAleenan practiced law in California. Along with his years of experience in working for the government, is his education background which includes a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago Law School after earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree, cum laude, from Amherst College (CBP.Gov, 2014).
Highlights
In 2012, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection initiatives and strategies have produced great results for our nation and continue to gain significant results in Fiscal year 2013. In two recent and separate incidents, a P-3 Aircraft Operations conducted by the Office of Air and Marine intercepted cocaine smugglers in open waters along Florida. The suspicious waterborne targets were carrying more than 3,800 pounds of cocaine with a combined value of more than $130 million. In the first incident, Maritime patrol assets tracked the targets for several days near the Galapagos Islands before passing it off to the U.S. Navy; the Navy intercepted the suspicious vessel and detained one Ecuadorian, two Colombians. The second incident involved a go-fast vessel off the coast of Colón, Panama; the crew onboard the P-3 coordinated with Panamanian law enforcement to respond to the suspected boat. The interception was a success, recovering 57 bales of cocaine that weighed more than 3,000 pounds and had a street value over $100 million (Office of Congressional Affairs, 2013). U.S. Customs and Border Protection fiscal year 2013 border enforcement efforts, reflects the administration’s focus on reducing threats, optimizing resources and building partnerships to secure our nation’s borders and facilitate trade and travel. This year, CBP processed more than $2.3 trillion in trade while enforcing U.S. trade laws that protect the nation’s economy, health, and safety; they also processed nearly 25 million cargo containers through our Nation’s ports of entry. CBP conducted more than 24,000 seizures of goods that violated intellectual property rights, with a total retail value of $1.7 billion, representing a 38 percent increase in value from FY 2012. In addition to support ever increasing international trade, CBP opened six new Centers of Excellence and Expertise. The industry-specific centers serve as single points of processing for participating importers. The centers increase uniformity of practices across ports of entry, facilitate the timely resolution of trade compliance issues nationwide, and offer important information from CBP on key industry practices to facilitate legitimate trade (CBP Public Affairs, 2014).
Organizational Challenges Due to lack of discipline and negligence by certain individuals working for CBP, bribery, drug trafficking, and migrant smuggling are just a few challenges that the agency faces on a daily basis. So many of its officers have been charged with committing these crimes themselves that their boss in Washington recently issued an alert about the ''disturbing events'' and the ``increase in the number of employee arrests.” An example of misconduct by a CBP employee is when a Customs and Border Protection officer at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was charged in February with conspiring to assist a New York drug ring under investigation by tapping into sensitive federal databases. Another two high visibility controversial issue that had the Department of Homeland Security in the public eye is the issue of immigration and national security. Not only does CBP encounter challenges of misconduct behavior, you also have other agencies in the DHS condoning in such behaviors such as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees (Weaver & Alfonso , 2008)
As a nation, we trust CBP to protect our nation’s borders from possible terrorist attacks and illegal activities that will jeopardize our safety. An issue that can possibly create gaps in our system and poses the greatest threat to domestic security is the deal that gives Dubai Ports World, a United Arab Emirates company, management of cargo terminals at six major U.S. ports. If the U.S. CBP face challenges within itself, then what makes it safe to allow a port company from another country to control U.S. owned ports. But there are Federal officials out there stating that they’ve significantly strengthened port security and established a "layered defense" against anyone trying to smuggle a weapon hidden among legitimate cargo (Huettel, 2006).
On the defense to combating this issue, the shipper must provide the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection a manifest listing the cargo inside at least twenty-four hours before a container is loaded at a foreign port. Next, the agency processes the information through intelligence databases that give the shipment a risk ranking. If the containers are determined to be high risk, then it’ll be inspected at any of the 42 foreign ports where Customs and Border Protection agents are stationed. Any vessels inbound for U.S. ports will notify the Coast Guard 96 hours in advance; they will provide a description of their cargo and a list of crew members and passengers. The Coast Guard will then run the information provided through its own intelligence matrix, which flags high-risk ships for boarding at sea or in port (Huettel, 2006).
Intelligence Community Although border security is not defined in law, the Intelligence Community has some longstanding statutory missions that directly relate to protecting the U.S. homeland from various outside foreign threats. It collects and analyzes foreign intelligence which by definition includes international terrorist activities. In regards to specific statutory restrictions, the Intelligence Community’s priorities for collection and analysis are provided by the DNI in accordance with the direction from the President and the National Security Council (NSC). At present, counterterrorism efforts include important missions that involve border security, i.e, keeping potential foreign terrorists from gaining entrance to the U.S. as well as preventing the introduction of weapons of mass destruction across U.S. borders (Best, 2010, pp. 2-3). One of CBP intelligence partners is the Analytical Framework for Intelligence (AFI), which is an intelligence-driven organization that supports the continued evolution of CBP by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the intelligence lifecycle process. It has evolved into a data analysis and intelligence product creation and dissemination platform that supports multiple DHS components, specifically CBP and ICE. AFI provides technology and tools that produce timely and actionable intelligence for DHS personnel protecting our borders. AFI also enhances collaboration across DHS intelligence analysts in a shared workspace; it effectively shares threat information and intelligence to other Federal partners charged with securing our nation. AFI shortens the time and expense in disseminating intelligence products to intelligence analysts and serves as the one-stop shop for CBP and ICE-produced intelligence products (IT Dashboard, 2014).
Armed Forces Contribution The defense of our nation fundamentally relies upon its military infrastructure but when it comes to the affairs of homeland security, the military cannot take on the internal affairs of law enforcement and safety. The Department of Defense (DoD) is the lead in defending against traditional external threats/ aggression; DoD may be in support of DHS when it comes to internal asymmetrical and nontraditional threats (e.g., terrorism). When conducting Homeland Defense (HD) operations within the U.S. territory, DoD will coordinate closely with federal agencies or departments. The purpose behind HD operations is to protect against and mitigate the impact of intrusions or attacks on sovereign territory, the domestic population, and defense critical infrastructure (Nemeth, 2013, p. 277). There are merely too many military entities and groups to count that relate to the world of homeland security. Every service branch has a dedicated portion of its resources to fight against terrorism, and each lends its expertise to particular tasks and challenges. Some of the military entities that contribute to homeland security are: National Maritime Intelligence Center (NMIC); National Reconnaissance Office (NRO); Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (CST); and the Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) (Nemeth, 2013, pp. 287-290).

References:

Aguilar, D. (2013, March 28). U.S. Customs and Borber Protection at 10 Years. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from U.S. Department of Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/blog/2013/03/28/cbp-10-years

Best, R. A. (2010, December 7). Securing America’s Borders: The Role of the Intelligence Community. Retrieved from Congressional Research Services: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/R41520.pdf

CBP Public Affairs. (2014, January 17). CBP Fiscal Year 2013 in. Retrieved from U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/2014-01-17-000000/cbp-fiscal-year-2013-review

CBP.Gov. (2014, July 1). 1891: Immigration Inspection Expands. Retrieved from U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/about/history/1891-imigration-inspection-expands

CBP.Gov. (2014, July 1). 1924: Border Patrol Established. Retrieved from U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/about/history/1924-border-patrol-established

CBP.GOV. (2014, July 1). About CPB. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from Department of Homeland Security: http://www.cbp.gov/about

CBP.Gov. (2014). Acting Deputy Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan. Retrieved from U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/about/leadership-organization/acting-deputy-commissioner-kevin-k-mcaleenan

CBP.Gov. (2014). Careers. Retrieved from U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/careers

CBP.Gov. (2014). Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. Retrieved from U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/about/leadership-organization/kerlikowske

EPIC.Org. (2006, August). Container Security Initiative. Retrieved from Electronic Privacy Information Center: http://epic.org/privacy/surveillance/spotlight/1006/csiplan.pdf

Huettel, S. (2006, February 24). Experts: Controversy Distraction From Real Threats. Retrieved from Tampa Bay Times: http://www.sptimes.com/2006/02/24/Worldandnation/Experts__Controversy_.shtml

IT Dashboard. (2014). CBP- Analytical Framework for Intelligence. Retrieved from IT Dashboard: https://www.itdashboard.gov/investment?buscid=315

Nemeth, C. P. (2013). Homeland Security. Boca Raton, Florida, United States of America: CRC Press.

Office of Congressional Affairs. (2013, February 15). U.S. Customs and Border Protection ’s 2012 Fiscal Year in Review. CBP Access, II(4), pp. 1-2. Retrieved from http://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CBPAccessV2.04_021513.pdf

Wallechinsky, D. (2014). U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Retrieved from AllGov: http://www.allgov.com/departments/department-of-homeland-security/us-customs-and-border-protection?agencyid=7353

Weaver, J., & Alfonso , C. (2008, March 5). Crimes By Homeland Security Agent Stir Alert. Retrieved from Prison Planet: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2008/050308_b_crimes.htm

Appendix A

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Organization Chart

Appendix B
DHS Organization Chart