Project Shield America is an integral part of the ICE counter-proliferation strategy of preventing illegal exporters, targeted foreign countries, terrorist groups and international criminal organizations from trafficking in weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their components. ICE works to stop organized criminal and state-sponsored efforts from obtaining and illegally exporting licensable commodities, technologies, conventional munitions and firearms; exporting stolen property and engaging in financial transactions that support these activities or violate U.S. sanctions and embargoes.
For decades, adversaries of the U.S. have acquired U.S. and Western technology by various means, both legal and illegal. Such acquisitions have provided these countries with Western research and strategic technology largely without cost and have assisted our adversaries in jeopardizing our soldiers, citizens and national interests.
Strategic technology sought by certain proscribed countries includes:
As with any illegal trade, the exact volume is difficult to measure or even estimate. ICE criminal investigations and seizures indicate, however, that such trade can be valued in the tens of millions of dollars annually. The monetary value of illegal exports discovered by ICE is often secondary to the strategic and potential military value of these products.
ICE has designed and implemented Project Shield America to work in concert with the three-pronged effort of its Export Enforcement Program:
Project Shield America is not intended to restrict or discourage legitimate U.S. exports. Rather, it is designed to protect the technical accomplishments resulting from American ingenuity and labor. It also prevents our adversaries from achieving technological parity or gaining a military advantage through illegal acquisition of U.S. technology.
Anyone involved in high technology research, development, production or sales are potential acquisition targets. A company may consider a product in development to be insignificant when compared to more publicized, sought after technologies. However, small technological projects can easily be the necessary component to a major technological development. ICE solicits the public’s assistance in providing information related to suspicious acquisition attempts or exports of critical technology, munitions items or services.
ICE recommends that industry partners implement an Export Management System (EMS). An effective EMS comprises the following elements:
If you have information regarding international terrorism, violations of U.S. export laws, or economic sanctions and embargoes, please call 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.
ICE solicits the assistance of private industry to share information related to suspicious acquisitions of high technology and munitions or services relating to these items. The following are possible indicators of illegal exports or diversions:
2/4/2013 Del Rio, TX Southwest Texas man extradited from Mexico for smuggling defense articles
1/30/2013 Brownsville, TX Former south Texas police officer pleads guilty to gun-trafficking charges
1/29/2013 Miami, FL ICE deports 3 Colombians convicted of conspiracy to export fighter jet engines to Iran
1/16/2013 New York, NY HSI arrest a Hong Kong man for selling and smuggling stolen US military equipment into the US
1/9/2013 El Paso, TX British businessman sentenced in El Paso to nearly 3 years for aiding and abetting the illegal export of defense articles
12/21/2012 Washington, DC 2 extradited from Singapore in connection with plot to illegally export military antennas