The U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently released statistics for fiscal year 2004. For the first time in U.S. history, data from all aspects of law enforcement at and between U.S. borders and the 317 ports of entry are captured by a single government agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

     “These statistics demonstrate the breadth and scope of what the officers and agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection do every day to secure our borders and make America safer,” said Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. “The men and women of Customs and Border Protection – the CBP officers at our ports of entry, the Border Patrol agents working between the entry points – interdict and arrest huge numbers of aliens and any smugglers who violate our nation’s laws and interdict huge quantities of illegal drugs. They deter potential terrorists from entering our country. They are the guardians of our borders – America’s frontline.”

    In Fiscal Year 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection:

    •Processed and cleared 428 million passengers and pedestrians to the United States at air, land, and seaports of entry. This represents an increase of nearly 4 percent. International air passenger traffic has rebounded and is now within 1.3 percent of the levels recorded prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Cleared 121 million privately owned vehicles enter the United States. Of the total, 91 million crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and 30 million crossed the U.S.-Canada border.

    •Processed and cleared 23.5 million sea, truck, and rail containers entering the United States, an increase of more than 5 percent over FY2003 levels.

    •Processed nearly 30 million entries of goods, up 17 percent over FY03, and conducted more than 3 million document reviews. In trade enforcement, CBP officers completed 2,722 merchandise seizures in FY04, totaling nearly $242 million in merchandise.

    •Made 7,250 seizures of counterfeit commodities, with a domestic value of $130 million. The rise in seizures of infringing products reflects CBP’s high priority to protect the intellectual property rights of company copyrights, trademarks and patents. And there was a 60 percent increase in criminal Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) arrests during the first half of FY04.

    •CBP officers and agents made 56,321 seizures of illegal drugs, with a total weight of 2,199,619 pounds. Of this number, CBP officers at official ports of entry made 47,744 seizures nationwide, weighing 844,222 pounds and worth an estimated $1 billion. CBP Border Patrol agents made 8,577 seizures, totaling 1,355,397 pounds of illegal drugs worth an estimated $1.62 billion between the official ports of entry.

    •CBP officers at ports of entry arrested 6,709 persons on drug-related charges and arrested 7,516 on outstanding state or federal warrants, a 41 percent increase over FY03.

    •Processed more than 262 million aliens attempting entry to the United States through ports of entry. Of that number, 643,091 were deemed inadmissible under U.S. laws.

    CBP officers also:

    •Intercepted 78,255 fraudulent documents.

    •Recorded 1.8 million lookout intercepts.

    •Apprehended 399 travelers for terrorism/national security concerns.

    •Did not admit 19,740 criminal aliens attempting to enter the United States.

    •Intercepted 566 stowaways.

    CBP agriculture specialists inspected nearly 1 million conveyances. CBP’s agriculture specialists, formerly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, also inspected 81 million passengers/pedestrians for prohibited agriculture products. In addition, CBP Agriculture Specialists conducted nearly 5 million cargo inspections, an increase of 16 percent over the previous fiscal year. As a result of these inspections, more than 1.5 million interceptions of prohibited plant material, meat/poultry products, and animal by-products were recorded.

    •CBP officers made 1,320 outbound currency seizures, totaling $45.9 million.

    •Collected $27 billion in revenue, second only to the Internal Revenue Service.

CBP’s anti-terrorism effort

    On Dec. 4, 2003, a CBP Officer in Houston roving the baggage area stopped to question an arriving passenger from London. After noticing suspicious travel in the passenger’s passport and an inability to answer simple questions about his current trip, the officer referred him to secondary inspection for a more thorough review. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that he was destined for Panama for a meeting with other suspected terrorists.

    On May 21, 2004, at the Rainbow Bridge near Buffalo, N.Y., a Canadian citizen, traveling on a Greyhound bus, arrived with luggage inconsistent with his stated travel. The individual is a member of the Sufisim movement and was attempting to attend a local meeting. Pocket contents showed the individual’s connection to a lookout for three individuals with possible ties to terrorism. The subject was interviewed by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and ICE agents and ultimately refused admission.

    On July 19, 2004, CBP Border Patrol agents conducting routine immigration inspections at McAllen Miller International Airport in McAllen, Texas noticed discrepancies with a South African passport belonging to a passenger. Further research indicated that the passenger was wanted for questioning for involvement in the bombing of a U.S. Consulate office. The JTTF was notified and agents interviewed the individual. Removal proceedings were initiated for this individual.

    On July 27, 2004, a citizen of Ireland arrived at Philadelphia International Airport from London. Examination and research by CBP officers revealed that he was an IRA member and had been convicted of arson, conspiracy, making and throwing petrol bombs, and attacking city buses. CBP officers refused him entry into the United States.

    A flight from Madrid, Spain to Newark Liberty International Airport on Aug. 4, 2004, included an individual found by CBP officers to be a confirmed member of the Basque Fatherland and Liberty terrorist organization, who was reportedly involved in two car bombings near Spanish airports in the summer of 2001. CBP officers refused this individual entry into the United States.

    A citizen of Canada arrived at the Detroit Tunnel Port of Entry on Aug. 24, 2004. Examination of his vehicle by CBP officers revealed Pakistani documents and a photo depicting soldiers in a vehicle, with a sign stating “Allah’s Soldiers.” CBP officers refused the individual’s entry into the United States.