United States Customs and Border Protection


United States Customs and Border Protection is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, as well as enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs, and immigration. The CBP is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States. It has a workforce of more than 45,600 federal agents and officers. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Organization

The CBP has a workforce of over 58,000 employees, including officers and agents, agriculture specialists, aircraft pilots, trade specialists, mission support staff, and canine enforcement officers and agents.
  • Approximately 33,300 CBP officers inspect and examine passengers and cargo at 328 ports of entry.
  • About 2,200 CBP agriculture specialists work to curtail the spread of harmful pests and plant and animal diseases that may harm America's farms and food supply or cause bio- and agro-terrorism.
  • About 21,000 Border Patrol agents protect and patrol of border with Mexico and of border with Canada.
  • Roughly 1,000 air and marine interdiction agents prevent people, weapons, narcotics, and conveyances from illegal entry by air and water.
  • Roughly 2,500 employees in CBP revenue positions collect over $30 billion annually in entry duties and taxes through the enforcement of trade and tariff laws. In addition, these employees fulfill the agency's trade mission by appraising and classifying imported merchandise. These employees serve in positions such as import specialist, auditor, international trade specialist, and textile analyst.
  • The primary goal of the CBP Canine Program is terrorist detection and apprehension. The CBP Canine Program is critical to the mission of the Department of Homeland Security: "To Protect the Homeland." The program conducts the largest number of working dogs of any U.S. federal law enforcement agency. K-9 teams are assigned to 73 commercial ports and 74 Border Patrol stations throughout the nation.
There are 328 officially designated ports of entry and an additional 14 pre-clearance locations. CBP is also in charge of the Container Security Initiative, which identifies and inspects foreign cargo in its mother country before it is to be imported into the United States. In addition the CBP claims to have legal jurisdiction to conduct some activities up to inwards from any land or sea border. This can include operating interior checkpoints.
CBP assess all passengers flying into the U.S. for terrorist risk via the Joint Terrorism Task Force and systems such as Advance Passenger Information System, United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indication Technology, and the Student and Exchange Visitor System. CBP also works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to screen high-risk imported food shipments in order to prevent bio-terrorism and agro-terrorism.
Through the Container Security Initiative, CBP works jointly with host nation counterparts to identify and screen containers that pose a risk at the foreign port of departure before they are loaded on board vessels bound for the U.S. CSI is implemented in 20 of the largest ports in terms of container shipments to the U.S., and at a total of 58 ports worldwide.
The Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection program allows pre-screened, low-risk travelers from Mexico to be processed through dedicated lanes. NEXUS is a similar program on the country's northern border with Canada. Along both borders, CBP has implemented the Free and Secure Trade, which uses transponder technology and pre-arrival shipment information to process participating trucks as they arrive at the border. An agreement with Canada allows CBP to target, screen, and examine rail shipments headed to the U.S.
CBP is authorized to provide aerial surveillance outside of the border area "to assist law enforcement and humanitarian relief efforts" when requested by local, tribal, state or federal agencies. CBP drones have been used to capture images of storm-impacted areas for the National Weather Service; assess hurricane affected areas for FEMA; support immigration enforcement actions by ICE; and provide surveillance for local law enforcement during the 2015 Baltimore protests, the 2020 George Floyd protests, and the 2025 Los Angeles protests.

Structure

Source:
  • Commissioner
  • *Deputy Commissioner
  • **Office of Intelligence
  • **Air and Marine Operations
  • **Office of Field Operations
  • **United States Border Patrol
  • **Office of Trade
  • **Enterprise Services Office
  • ***Office of Acquisition
  • ***Office of Finance
  • ***Office of Human Resources Management
  • ***Office of Training and Development
  • ***Office of Information and Technology
  • **Operations Support Office
  • ***Office of International Affairs
  • **Office of Chief Counsel
  • **Office of Congressional Affairs
  • **Office of Intergovernmental Public Liaison
  • **Office of Privacy and Diversity
  • **Office of Professional Responsibility
  • **Office of Public Affairs
  • **Office of Trade Relations

    List of commissioners of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Enforcement powers

The CBP has the authority to search outbound and inbound shipments, and uses targeting to carry out its mission in this area. Under Section 596 of the Tariff Act, the CBP is required to seize and forfeit all merchandise that is stolen, smuggled, or clandestinely imported or introduced. The CBP is also required to seize and forfeit controlled substances, certain contraband articles, and plastic explosives that do not contain a detection agent. In conjunction with the Department of State and the Bureau of the Census, the CBP has put in place regulations that require submission of electronic export information on U.S. Munitions List and for technology for the Commerce Control List. The CBP uses advance information from the Automated Targeting System and the Automated Export System to identify cargo that may pose a threat. The CBP also works with the departments of state and defense to improve procedures on exported shipments of foreign military sales commodities.
Merchandise may also be seized and forfeited if:
  • Its importation is restricted or prohibited because of a law relating to health, safety or conservation;
  • The merchandise is lacking a federal license required for the importation;
  • The merchandise or packaging is in violation of copyright, trademark, trade name, or trade dress protections;
  • The merchandise is intentionally or repetitively marked in violation of country of origin marking requirements; or
  • The imported merchandise is subject to quantitative restrictions requiring a visa or similar document from a foreign government, and the document presented with the entry is counterfeit.

    Civil penalties

Section 1592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 is the basic and most widely used customs penalty provision for the importation of goods. It prescribes monetary penalties against any person who imports, attempts to import, or aids or procures the importation of merchandise by means of false or fraudulent documents, statements, omissions or practices, concerning any material fact. Penalties may be applied even in situations where there is no loss of revenue.
Section 1592 infractions are divided into three categories of culpability, each giving rise to a different maximum penalty:
  • Fraud, an act or omission done intentionally to defraud the United States. The maximum civil penalty for a violation is the domestic value of the merchandise in the entry or entries concerned.
  • Gross negligence, an act or omission with actual knowledge of, or wanton disregard for, the relevant facts and a disregard of section 1592 obligations. The maximum civil penalty is the lesser of the domestic value of the merchandise or four times the loss of revenue. If the infraction does not affect revenue, the maximum penalty is 40% of the dutiable value of the good.
  • Negligence, involving a failure to exercise due care in ascertaining the material facts or in ascertaining the obligations under section 1592. The maximum civil penalties are the same for gross negligence, except the lesser of twice the domestic value of the merchandise or twice the loss of revenue is used. The penalty cannot exceed 20% of the dutiable value.
The Customs Modernization Act amended section 1592 to apply existing penalties for false information to information transmitted electronically and allows customs to recover unpaid taxes and fees resulting from 592 violations. It also introduced the requirement that importers use "reasonable care" in making entry and providing the initial classification and appraisement, establishing a "shared responsibility" between customs and importers, thus allowing customs to rely on the accuracy of the information submitted and streamline entry procedures. To the extent that an importer fails to use reasonable care, customs may impose a penalty.
U.S. Customs agriculture specialist officers are allowed to issue civil penalties in accordance with CFR 7 & 9.

Criminal penalties

In addition to the civil penalties, a criminal fraud statute provides for sanctions to those presenting false information to customs officers, with violators facing a maximum of two years imprisonment, or a $5,000 fine, or both, for each violation involving an importation or attempted importation.

History

U.S. Customs Service

Responding to an urgent need for revenue following the American Revolutionary War, the First United States Congress passed, and President George Washington signed on July 4, the Tariff of 1789, which authorized the collection of duties on imports. Four weeks later, on July 31, the fifth act of Congress established the United States Customs Service and its ports of entry.
For nearly 125 years, the U.S. Customs Service was the primary source of governmental funds, which paid for the nation's early growth and infrastructure. Purchases include the Louisiana and Oregon territories; Florida and Alaska; funding the National Road and the Transcontinental Railroad; building many of the United States' lighthouses; and military academies.
In March 2003, the Customs Service was renamed the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, and its structure split to form parts of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division.