A lot has happened since the Department of Homeland Security was formed, shortly after the explosions on United States, that were witnessed on 11 September 2001. The president and Congress gave authorization for DHS to have a budget of more than one hundred billion dollars (passed on to taxpayers). The overall main reason presented for the unprecedented budget was in the name of United States safety for its citizens and commerce. 

To keep everyone safe including transportation safety and infrastructure, the DHS needed additional agencies to assist in being prepared for investigating terrorist threats, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other major emergencies.  Responsibility is shared by multiple agencies for border security, commerce (trade) safety, transportation safety and protection from targeted terrorist violence. To give the United States (US) citizens peace of mind when it comes to national safety and financial security of the US currency, the Department of Homeland Security oversees several agencies to support this level of safety and protection. 

All the agencies and sub-agencies play a role in this mission. They all are important agencies, but when it comes to the massive miles of border protection and tracking down the illegal aliens that aim to undermine the United States federal laws and take advantage of the United States welfare and medical system, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) takes on a huge part in this responsibility (US CBP (a), 2020). 

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

The Ethos of the United States Customs and Border Protection states that CBP is the guardian of the United States borders, as they are the US frontline protectors. The CBP will safeguard the homeland at the borders and beyond. The CBP protects the United States citizens against terrorist and their instruments of terror. The CBP enforces the nation’s laws, while fostering the United States economics security, via lawful international trade and travel. The CBP aims to serve the United States citizens with integrity, professionalism, and vigilance (US CBP (a), 2020).

The United States Customs and Border Protection has been around since July 4th, 1789. The First Congress established a tariffs system on imported goods way back then. It started as the United States Customs Service. After the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was established with the merger of the United States Customs Service. CBP also merged major elements of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Immigration Inspections Program, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, as well as elements of the United States Border Patrol. 

After these mergers, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) then added the Air and Marine Operations Division (AMOD). Prior to this, AMOD was a part of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In recent years, the CBP also took on select elements of the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT). The CBP became very powerful in its reach once all these agencies and elements of agencies became a part of the CBP, as it became the United States most comprehensive border security agency. 

The mission, goal, metrics, and objective focused on securing the United States borders and facilitating legal trade and travel. The challenges of the CBP became apparent as they needed more community support and enough funding to do their mission well. There isn’t enough money released to the CBP to properly secure the borders with walls, towers, tunnel detection equipment, drones, manpower, K-9 support, jail facilities, flights, and other transports to deport quickly, and community support. 

To summarize the Mission of the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the CBP’s goal is to protect the United States citizens; protect the nation’s economy; safeguard and manage the United States land, air, and maritime borders. The CBP protects the United States citizens with vigilance, unyielding integrity, and selfless service to protect the public from dangerous people and dangerous materials. The CBP aids in enhancing the United States economic competitiveness around the world via enabling legitimate trade and travel. 

The United States Customs and Border Protection has a vision to be a global leader in promoting the strongest security and trade partnerships that foster safety, security, and a prosperous United States with a strong global community. To accomplish its vision, CBP will continue to leverage global partnerships, and modern technology, and use an entrepreneurial approach to enhancing a fully integrated and effective Federal law enforcement agency. The CBP aims to be the premier law enforcement agency that evolves and improves the United States safety, security, and prosperity. The three main approaches the CBP will use are integration, innovation, and collaboration. With this approach, the agency can address terrorist threats and border protection challenges (US CBP, 2020). 

I recommend that congress and the president of the United States to be on board with the mission and vision of the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). I recommend that the government stop sending billions of dollars in foreign aid and redirect funds needed to secure our border properly and afford incentives to recruit qualified officers as a top priority. Additionally, I recommend all equipment to be upgraded to include patrol boats, patrol vehicles, drones, trackers, buses, communications, and other items in need of repair or replacement. I also recommend funding be released to make sure all employees receive the best training available to do their job safely and effectively. 

The results will show the justification for the allocation of funds. Having a solid tall security wall along the northern and southern borders of the United States, the number of illegal crossings will decrease by thousands. Having funding to locate tunneling and then sealing off those areas, will result in thousands more not being able to illegally cross. The amount of dollars saved from not having to process thousands of people that cross illegally will make up for the investment in border security. 

United States citizens get assaulted, injured, and killed each year from those that cross the borders illegally. The United States judicial systems attest to this fact. Since we can save lives and protect our citizens with better border security, the investment will be worth it (DHS (a), 2023). 

To give you an idea of the numbers of those arrested each year that crossed the United States border illegally that already had a prior criminal conviction, here is some analysis data. In the fiscal year 2017 there were 8,531 prior convicted criminals that crossed illegally. In 2018 it was 6,698; in 2019 there was 4,269; in 2020 there was 2,469; in 2021 there was 10,763; in 2022 there was 12,028; and in 2023 there was over 15,267. Keep in mind that these numbers only reflect those caught and convicted. 

The number of those not caught is unknown but we know that everyday many elude law enforcement officers. Every person that crosses the United States border illegally has committed a crime, so once they cross, they become a criminal. After they cross illegally and commit this crime, the additional crimes committed are unknown, however the number of convicted criminals that cross the border, that have been caught, is sadly, a very large number. 

Thousands of United States citizens become victims to the violent crimes that could have been prevented with better secured borders. Illegal aliens that were convicted of violent crimes in 2023 were in the thousands. In 2023, those convicted of assault, battery, domestic violence was over 1,254. Those convicted of burglary, robbery, larceny, theft, and fraud were over 864. Keep in mind that the District Attorneys (DA), most of the time drop several charges and offer a plea bargain with the inmate. So we are not hearing about many additional charges that got dropped. Illegal aliens also accounted for over 2,493 convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) in 2023.  

There were about 30 United States citizens killed (homicide or manslaughter) in 2023. Over 2,055 illegal aliens were convicted of illegal drug possession and trafficking in 2023. Illegal aliens convicted of sexual offenses accounted for over 284 in 2023 and there were thousands of other crime conviction outside of the those mentioned above (US CBP (b), 2023).

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does overlap some areas covered by other agencies, but they also collaborate and share information among those agencies. Illegal aliens undermine the integrity of the United States Federal laws, as well as the United States immigration system. Illegal aliens also undermine the laws by staying in the United States passed their authorized time. Illegal aliens pose a threat to the safety of US citizens and the US security system. CBP, ICE and other agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have a responsibility to arrest, incarcerate and deport, as needed, those that break the federal law[s]. The goal is to eliminate or minimize those that abuse the United States systems and laws. The goal is accomplished by border walls, tracking devices, biometric scanning and identification measures, trained officers, functional tools, equipment to deter and capture, and other means to aid in the protection of United States citizens from abuse, threats, harassment, intimidation, trafficking, drug smuggling, burglary, robbery, murder, manslaughter, assaults, and other violent crimes (DHS (b), 2023).

By Snake Blocker, Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas

References

Department of Homeland Security (DHS (a). (2023). DHS FY2024 Budget in Brief. 

     Retrieved from-  

file:///C:/Users/snake/Downloads/2024%20DHS%20Budget%20in%20Brief.pdf

Department of Homeland Security (DHS (b). (2020). FY2020-2024 DHS Strategic Plan. 

     Retrieved from-  

file:///C:/Users/snake/Downloads/2020_2024%20DHS%20Strat%20Plan%20(1).pdf

US CBP (a). 2020. US Customs and Border Protection Vision and Strategic Plan 2020. 

      Retrieved from-

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CBP-Vision-Strategy-2020.pdf

US CBP (b). (2023). Criminal Noncitizen Statistics 2023. Retrieved from- 

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics/criminal-noncitizen-statistics