5.1 CBP Mission

WHO? Again, the Department of Homeland Security.

WHAT? Are responsible for keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while facilitating legitimate trade… not an easy job.

WHEN? The pulse of commerce beats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

WHERE? In the air and sea approaches, on the border, and across the country.

WHY? As we said before, 9/11 failures made Customs and Border Protection a priority mission.

Customs and Border Protection was made a priority mission for the Department of Homeland Security because the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by foreign agents operating on US soil. The primary mission objective is to keep terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the US. Perhaps it goes without saying, but it’s not an easy mission. Because while we want to keep the bad guys out, we also need to help the good guys and facilitate the flow of legitimate trade. Something easier said than done. More than 75 million people visit the US annually, and we import nearly $3 trillion in goods. Similarly, about 75 million US citizens travel abroad every year, and we export about $2.3 trillion. Amid all this traffic, it is very difficult to separate the good from the bad. All goods and services coming into the US must process through designated “ports of entry”. There are 328 official ports of entry in the US serving as gateways into our country from land, sea, and air. A port of entry is where Border Patrol and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents screen all people and goods coming into the US. Although 328 ports of entry sound like a lot, they’re not when you consider we have 167 border crossings with Mexico and Canada, 360 commercial maritime ports, and 19,700 airports in the US. What about those interested in avoiding a port of entry? What about smugglers? The US shares over 1,933 miles of land border with Mexico, and 3,987 miles of border with Canada, excluding Alaska. We have 12,383 miles of coastline circumscribing 95,471 miles of shoreline. That vast distance creates lots of opportunities for smugglers, either by land, air, or sea. Securing our borders is the job of the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard. Border Patrol maintains watch of our land borders, and the Coast Guard protects the nation’s maritime approaches. Even so, it’s still not an easy job. There just aren’t enough agents. The Border Patrol has about 20,000 agents, and the Coast Guard has about 41,000 personnel. Both are stretched very thin. No wonder that people and contraband still manage to sneak into our country. Although about 1 million legally immigrate every year, an estimated 11.3 million live here illegally. It is the job of US Customs and Immigration Service to assist those who wish to immigrate legally. It is the job of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to deport those who are here illegally. Whereas the Coast Guard has jurisdiction at sea, the Border Patrol has jurisdiction within 90 miles of the US border, ICE agents have jurisdiction and can operate across the country. ICE agents can appear on work sites and demand proof of citizenship. Employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens can be subject to severe fines. The power and authority of ICE can be directly traced to the failures of 9/11. So can TSA. Because of the failure of commercial airport screening on 9/11, that job now rests with the TSA. TSA employs about 47,000 Transportation Security Officers. They screen about 2 million passengers who fly about 24,000 domestic flights daily. Unfortunately, there is no perfect screening. TSA agents are only about 20 percent effective in finding contraband, according to a 2017 news report. Although up from 5 percent effective just two years earlier, it doesn’t exactly instill confidence. Again, look at the numbers, and look at the competing missions… it’s not an easy job. And though TSA is mainly known for airport security, they also protect the nation’s highways, railways, and pipelines. Does that mean it should remain a priority mission? Consider this: does a criminal have to be in the US to make a catastrophic attack on the US? We’ll see you next time when we take a closer look at the Transportation Security Administration.