Independent Federal Law Enforcement DHS Agency - Assignment Example

? U.S Customs and Border Protection Division This study analyzes the operations and activities of the U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an arm of the DHS. The primary and extra roles of the CBP are analyzed alongside the impacts of the extra roles on its primary counterterrorism activities. The preparation provided for CBP manpower, including special training and facilitation is also discussed. This is followed by an overview of CBP’s relationship with local and state law enforcement agencies, summed up by a discussion of whether the CBP pursues a leadership or supportive function in this relationship. Introduction As a response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government signed the Homeland Security Act in 2002, establishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged with primary responsibilities in terrorism prevention and response alongside emergency planning and response (DHS, 2002). This important agency operates through various divisions including U.S Customs and Border Protection, U.S Coast Guard, U.S Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services. This study narrows down to the operations of the U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division, noting the primary and subsidiary roles of the agency and how these two roles impact on the agency’s ability to execute its primary responsibility. Further, preparation of agents for operations and how the agency interacts with state and local law enforcement agencies is analyzed. 1. The CBP division of the DHS is primarily charged with preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from having access to the United States. To pursue this role, the CBP guards about 9000 miles of land border (Canada and Mexico- 7000 miles) and water border (coastal waters-2000 miles). Further, the agency collaborates with the U.S Coast Guard division of the DHS to guard 95,000 miles of maritime border. The operations of the CBP in counterterrorism are geared towards the official ports of entry in the borders while air and marine patrols are undertaken to further deter terrorism. The CBP also undertakes prevention and response against agro-terrorism and bioterrorism. At the points of entry, the CBP undertakes a number of field activities to prevent terrorism including cargo inspection, immigration inspection program and automated targeting systems. Between the border points of entry, mobile units for patrol purposes are deployed. On the air front, the agency utilizes 700 pilots and 290 airplanes several types including unmanned ones. Lastly, the marine front is backed with 360 marine agents who work in coordination with the air division to interdict and repulse any terrorist activities (CBP, 2010). With all this capacity, the CBP is an important division of the DHS in terms of the objectives of the latter’s formation in counterterrorism. It maintains the largest law enforcement manpower in the USA indicating prioritization made about terrorism. 2. The CBP agency also undertakes several other roles besides its primary counterterrorism activities. 3. One of these non-counterterrorism roles of the CBP are in terms of trade. Through maintenance of close relationships with the government, trade parties and foreign governments, the CBP facilitates the occurrence of legitimate trade through serving as a U.S trade laws enforcement agency. This is undertaken through prevention of counterfeit trade at the official points of entry and through patrolling non-point of entry areas. The CBP not only inspects arriving cargo (about 25 million containers arriving each year at U.S seaport, airports and through rail) but also ensures revenue for these is properly collected (CBP, 2010). To further support its roles in trade, the CBP maintains a trade support network, provides traders with information for locating ports of entry, publishes trade newsletters, maintains information about import trends, commodity status reports, tariff rates, quota transmittals, trade trends, intellectual property rights issues and trade fact sheets among other trade related activities (CBP, 2012). The CBP also serves travel roles through welcoming about a million visitors per day via seaports, airports, and land. The CBP here serves as a typical travel agency through providing international travelers with port information, managing a passenger service program and even undertaking travel satisfaction surveys. The travel responsibilities also include providing information about wait times at airports and borders, information to private flyers and pleasure boats, handling traveler complaints, information about the relevant documents travelers need to access the USA (CBP, 2012). The CBP also undertakes agricultural inspection at the various ports of entry into the USA (sea, air and land) with the aim of enforcing a number of plant and animal protection laws. This helps the CBP to protect the agricultural and economic interests from various harmful pests and diseases (CBP, 2010). 4. The extra responsibilities undertaken by the CBP do not significantly interfere with the primary responsibility of the agency in counterterrorism. This is mainly because the extra activities are closely related to the counterterrorism role in light of the activities’ location and operation. For instance, the extra activities take place in seaports, airports, and land ports of entry. Cargo inspection and prevention of counterfeit in the trade responsibility all happens at the port of entry. The CBP role in travel also occurs at seaports, airports and land (CBP, 2010). As a result, the locations in which these extra responsibilities are undertaken do not remove the CBP’s agents from the locations in which they occupy to fight terrorism. Further, the nature of activities involved in the extra responsibilities is mostly congruent with counterterrorism. For instance, cargo inspection is conducted as part of preventing terrorism. Besides, illegal trade activities such as counterfeit may closely correlate with terrorist activity while international trade trends may give pointers to terrorism intelligence. In terms of travel, maintaining information on travelers and closely relating with them also serve the role of inspection against terrorists. Maintaining efficient traveler reception and inspection not only serves the traveler’s interest but also the agency’s interests in counterterrorism. The roles in agricultural inspection are also congruent with CBP’s responsibilities to fight agro-terrorism and bio-terrorism besides serving the roles of protecting American agricultural and economic interests. As a result, the extra activities undertaken by the CBP are convenient and supportive of its role in counterterrorism. 5. CBP’s workforce is prepared to handle the counterterrorism roles through a number of ways including providing them with adequate training, legal powers, special facilities and equipment and intelligence/information sharing. Preparation through training takes the form of cross training to allow the agents to perform the three tasks; immigration, customs and agricultural inspection. This is done with the aim of achieving the “One face at the border” program, which unifies the roles of the CBP and enables one CBP agent to undertake the entire inspection process for an alien entering the USA (Haddal, 2010). This increases efficiency by the agents and heightens the convenience offered to the traveler. To undertake these duties, the agents are provided with top of the range equipment and facilities such as Tactical Infrastructure (TI), SENTRI (Secure Electronic Network for Rapid Inspection) and inspection advances through the Office of Technology Innovation and Acquisition (OTIA). Further, the agents are provided with information maintenance and sharing through programs such as the Advance Passenger Information System (PIS) and the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) (CBP, 2012). Through the combination of training, equipment and information sharing programs, the agents of the CBP are well prepared to execute the agency’s duties in counterterrorism. 6. The CBP undertakes special training programs for a number of aspects of the operations undertaken in fighting terrorism. This especially happens for specialized operations. For instance, special training programs are available for BORSTAR (Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue), BORTAC (Border Patrol Tactical Unit) and the Border Patrol Special Operations Group. A special category of the CBP is the Canine Program in which training is undertaken for the field agents and the canines in terms of Basic Canine Concealed Human/Narcotics Detection, Passenger Processing Canine Narcotic Detection, Search and Rescue Canine and Basic Canine Currency/Firearms Detection (CBP, 2010). The Training and Development Office under an Assistant Commissioner manage such special training programs. 7. The CBP works with local and state law enforcement agencies especially those around the border for the purpose of maximizing terrorism fighting effectiveness. One central point for the two- CBP as an arm of DHS, which is at the federal level and state and local agencies on the other hand- is the need for information sharing. This results in different levels of law enforcement having to work together. The CBP has pursued a cooperative relationship with the local and state law enforcement levels rather than a leadership one. For instance, the DHS sought to establish CBP department level presence at the various law enforcement fusion centers in which federal, state and local law enforcement agencies operate together (Committee on Homeland Security, 2007). The Committee also reports that CBP agents are provided with initial training backed by recurrent updates to maximize their capacity of information sharing with local and state levels. This is to ensure they can routinely share CBP information and obtain necessary information from the local and state agencies. Larence (2009) also states that, through the DHS, the CBP seeks to improve its information sharing and intelligence communication with local and state levels of law enforcement. Larence (2009) further reports on the plans of the DHS to establish Joint Fusion Center where cooperation with the local and state levels would be optimized. The discussion shows that the CBP seeks a supportive relationship with local and state agencies rather than a condescending or leadership one. However, inquiries by the Committee on Homeland Security (2007) indicate inconsistencies in the field in regard to the cooperative policy of the CBP. The interviewee officers indicated that; the senior officers at CBP were ambivalent or blocked flow of information between CBP and the lower levels; some officers at the CBP viewed state and local agencies as competitors; there were perceptions that the state and local levels were not adequately capable of handling CBP’s intelligence. Conclusion The U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a division primarily charged with counterterrorism. It executes its functions through guarding ports of entry, between port of entry area borders and the sea. It also serves functions in travel, trade and agricultural protection. Whereas such secondary roles may appear to diminish CBP’s ability to fight terrorism, they are closely related with the primary role and happen at similar points of operation and, hence, are not counteractive. CBP manpower is adequately trained and backed with quality facilities and information capabilities to execute their duties. CBP seeks a cooperative relationship with local and state law enforcement levels, although this has not always been achievable in the field. References CBP (2012). About CBP. Retrieved 18 May 2012 from http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/about/ CBP (2010). CBP canine disciplines. Retrieved 18 May 2012 from http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/canine/disciplines_2.xml CBP (2010). Protecting our borders – This is CBP. Retrieved 18 May 2012 from http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/about/mission/cbp.xml Committee on Homeland Security (2007). Department of Homeland Security intelligence and border security: Delivering operational intelligence- Hearing. DIANE Publishing, USA. DHS (2012). Department components. Retrieved 18 May 2012 from http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/department-components.shtm Haddal, C. C. (2010). Border security: Key agencies and their missions. Congressional Research Service. 7-5700. Larence, E. (2009). Information sharing: Federal agencies are sharing border and terrorism information with local and tribal law enforcement agencies, but additional efforts are needed. DIANE Publishing, USA. Read More