Operation ATLAS: Targeting Illegal Cash Couriers Worldwide

Today Secretary Napolitano and World Customs Organization Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya joined together in Brussels to announce the results of an unprecedented international law enforcement operation that led to the seizure of more than $3.5 million in smuggled cash over a five day period.

Dubbed Operation ATLAS (Assess, Target, Link, Analyze and Share), this groundbreaking investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from over 80 countries worldwide to target and disrupt cash couriers--people employed by criminal organizations to move their illicit funds across international borders.

Operation ATLAS focused on identifying these illicit cash couriers by employing several different methods to detect cash carried in baggage, on travelers and in shipments aboard commercial flights at designated airports. ATLAS also promoted the sharing of information and intelligence among customs agencies. In the United States, this operation was led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with participation from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and coordinated by the World Customs Organization.

Operation ATLAS is the latest and largest example of how increased international cooperation among law enforcement and customs agencies has resulted in the identification of new smuggling routes and methods used by criminal organizations throughout the world.

In September, ICE worked closely with law enforcement partners in Colombia and Mexico to uncover more than $41 million smuggled in shipping containers bound for Colombia. And in July, an ICE-led multilateral operation targeting cash couriers seized more than $3.5 million and detected an additional $4.2 million in undeclared currency at ports of entry around the globe.

This level of multilateral coordination is truly unprecedented and illustrates how the Department and our international allies are working together to shut down criminal organizations’ old ways of doing business.

John Morton
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Fact vs. Fiction: Correcting the AP on Port Infrastructure Funding

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided critical funding to improve security along our borders at our land ports of entry. Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, is utilizing $420 million in Recovery Act funding to replace aging infrastructure and enhance safety at 43 ports of entry across the country- through an objective, thorough, and transparent process.

On August 26, the Associated Press ran a misleading story that portrayed this process as biased and secretive. This is absolutely incorrect. The AP was provided information which it chose not to include in its story that clearly demonstrates how our Recovery dollars are being put to work quickly and transparently.

The AP claimed that political considerations helped determine which ports received ARRA funding. In reality, CBP and the General Services Administration used a thorough, objective, and transparent process based on the merits of each project to select the ports of entry that will be modernized with ARRA funds.

This process was long in the making. The assessment to rank the conditions and needs of all 163 U.S. land ports of entry started in 2003. CBP incorporated over 60 factors across four categories, ranging from health and life safety concerns to workload growth and space and site deficiencies. For ARRA funds, which were tied to construction timelines, CBP also identified and analyzed a range of factors that could impact the feasibility of meeting these timelines. This list is public on Recovery.gov.

The AP also alleges that the Department chose to use ARRA funding for small, low-traffic northern border ports rather than for busier ports along the southwest border, such as the port in Laredo, Texas.

But what the AP story doesn’t reflect is how the funding process works and an understanding of how ownership of a port restricts the funding process. The Department received ARRA funding specifically for ports owned by CBP, which includes 39 ports of entry along the northern border and four along the southwest border. None of these CBP owned ports are in Laredo. GSA owns or leases all the Laredo port facilities, part of the 38 southwest border land ports that GSA controls.
Most of the ports CBP owns are small, rural, low-traffic ports along the northern border. Most are four decades old and unequipped to meet the security needs of a modern, post-9/11 world.

Finally, the AP wrote that CBP had a secretive process for determining port funding and refused to provide justifications for its decisions. This is patently false. Prior to the AP’s story, CBP had published the prioritized list of ARRA port projects, along with detailed information describing the review process, on Recovery.gov.

The Department provided the AP with unprecedented access to a wide array of additional information about final project selections, including a nearly three-hour briefing and access to all supporting documents. CBP also provided written, on-the-record justifications for why specific ports were not eligible for ARRA funds due to feasibility and project readiness issues. We also made available to the AP numerous high-level policymakers for interviews on this topic.

In every instance, we provided the AP with information, which – if reported fully and accurately – would have addressed their questions. Americans should have confidence in the objectivity and openness with which ARRA funds have been dedicated to port projects and both CBP and the Department of Homeland Security are committed to upholding this responsibility. To find out more about how ARRA funds are being used in your community and across the country, visit Recovery.gov.

David Aguilar
Acting Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: Boosting Border Security and Efficiency

Before January 2008, United States and Canadian citizens were not required to present specific travel documents when entering the United States through a land or sea port. That meant that a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer might only have the traveler’s word on which to base his or her decision to allow someone to enter the United States. Not surprisingly, this practice significantly hampered our ability to quickly verify a traveler's identity or citizenship, determine if they pose a threat, and importantly, hampered our ability to speed legitimate travelers across the border. Every day, CBP encountered hundreds of individuals trying to game the system and pass themselves off as American or Canadian—an untenable scenario that turned each traveler into a potential imposter.

On June 1, CBP will implement the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), a result of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission that requires U.S. and Canadian travelers to present a secure travel document that denotes identity and citizenship when entering our country. WHTI narrows the list of acceptable identity and citizenship documents to those in which we have great confidence because of their issuance process and physical security features. As a result, WHTI will strengthen our borders as we facilitate entry for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign travelers – a core component of CBP's mission.

CBP is fully prepared to implement WHTI—we have ensured that you, the traveling public, have a choice among travel documents to best meet your needs; we have installed infrastructure in our ports to make your entry and inspection process go more quickly and more smoothly; and we have worked hard to communicate the new requirements to you well in advance of the June 1 deadline. We have also heard your concerns and made special provisions to accommodate U.S. and Canadian children under age 16—and those under age 19 traveling in school, sports, religious or other office groups—who need only present a copy of a birth certificate or alternative proof of citizenship to enter the United States by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean.

Now we need your help to make these improvements to our border security as successful as they can be. We encourage you to obtain WHTI-compliant travel documents for entering the U.S. on June 1 and beyond. Approved documents include the traditional passport book as well as cards that are equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to make your trip even faster and more efficient: the U.S. passport card, a NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST Trusted Traveler Program card, or a state- or province-issued enhanced drivers license.

RFID-enabled documents are easy to use. When entering the United States from Mexico (or Canada), hold up your travel card (and those of any passengers in your car), drive slowly toward the inspection booth, and stop for an interview with the officer. The automated read of the RFID tag (a unique number that contains no personally identifiable information) links to a secure CBP database. Before you arrive at the booth, the CBP officer can review your photograph, biographic information, and the results of law enforcement checks. By queuing up this information while you’re still driving toward the booth, the officer can more quickly verify your identity and focus more attention on talking to you while shaving 6 – 8 seconds off of the current inspection process. Because all the RFID-enabled travel cards can be read at one time, it saves the officer from having to manually type information about each individual in your car.

We realize that some travelers arriving at the border will not have WHTI-compliant documents. I encourage you to continue with your travel plans and to obtain facilitative and secure WHTI travel documents as soon as possible. U.S. and Canadian citizens who lack WHTI-compliant documents but are otherwise admissible will not be denied entry into the United States on June 1 and during the subsequent transition period.

Obtaining a WHTI-approved document and complying with the law will help make our borders more secure. Getting your WHTI-compliant document will help make your border crossings easier and faster.

For more information on new documents that go into effect on June 1, please visit www.getyouhome.gov.

Jayson P. Ahern
Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Originally published in the May 30, 2009 edition of the Houston Chronicle

Honoring Our Fallen Heroes

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to meet with the families of two fallen Border Patrol agents who gave their lives in the service of our Department and our nation.

Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar and Border Patrol Agent Jarod Dittman were killed in the line of duty last year as they performed their responsibilities as Border Patrol agents working to protect our Southwest border.

Agent Aguilar was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle attempting to evade capture near Calexico, California and return into Mexico. The driver of that vehicle is now in federal custody in Mexico and faces second-degree murder charges and federal narcotics violations in the United States. Agent Dittman was killed in a vehicle accident in Jamul, California in the early morning hours while en route to his patrol area.

I assured the family members that we will never forget the sacrifices made by their loved ones. While no words can ever repay their loss, this week the names of both agents were inscribed into the CBP Valor Memorial in Washington, D.C. to stand as a permanent tribute to their service.

On Wednesday, Agent Aguilar and Agent Dittman's names also were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, along with 131 officers who died in the line of duty in 2008. As part of National Police Week 2009, I attended a candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening in their honor.

It is sometimes easy to forget the sacrifices our law enforcement officers and their families make on a daily basis as they protect our communities and the American people – and the very real dangers they encounter while on the job. This is a good time to honor the memories of those who have fallen, and give thanks to those who keep our nation safe.

Janet Napolitano

Southwest Border

Last week I traveled to Mexico, with brief stops in California and Texas. The purpose of my visit was to meet with my foreign counterparts, assess the situation on the Southwest Border with respect to drug cartel violence, hear directly from federal, state, tribal, and local officials, and announce some additional resources we are deploying to the border to help Mexico in its fight against these dangerous cartels.

In California, I met with state and local leaders in San Diego, toured the border and visited the Otay Mesa port of entry – one of the busiest commercial ports on the Southwest border.

More than $400 million in Recovery Act funds is being directed to the Southwest border. This money will be used to upgrade infrastructure at the ports of entry, add technology and inspection equipment, and strengthen our surveillance and communications capabilities.

In Mexico, I visited with my foreign counterparts, and along with Attorney General Holder, attended an important conference on arms trafficking. The smuggling of guns is a serious problem and contributes to a lot of the violence we’re seeing in Mexico among the drug cartels and organized criminal networks.

To combat the problem, we are moving substantial resources to border, including more than 360 additional DHS officers and agents, license plate readers that will allow us to scan for suspect vehicles, southbound rail screening, and additional grant funding for state and local law enforcement. These measures will help us counter the flow of guns and cash into Mexico while protecting cities and communities along the border.

Finally, on my return, I stopped in Laredo, Texas to meet with community leaders, speak with members of the Laredo Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), which is a multi-agency law enforcement team that fights criminal organizations and smugglers, and visit the Laredo port of entry. In recent weeks, we’ve made several significant seizures of cash and guns in Laredo, including more than $3 million discovered in a hidden compartment in the floor of a bus bound for Mexico.

Examples like this impede the ability of criminal organizations to fund their activities. Since the start of this fiscal year, CBP and ICE together have seized more than $55 million in cash, over 630 weapons, and nearly 125,000 rounds of ammunition.

We’re going to continue to keep the pressure on. I consider this a historic opportunity to help Mexico confront a serious threat that impacts the safety and security of both of our countries. We all have a stake in this fight, and here at the Department we’re going to continue to do our part to make sure we succeed.

Janet Napolitano

Secretary Continues Her Tour of Components

February 6, 2009 – Secretary Napolitano visits U.S. Customs & Border Protection headquarters and meets with CBP employees.

February 5, 2009 – U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan (front) and Special Agent Gregory Tate (rear) brief Secretary Napolitano on the presidential limousine, nicknamed "The Beast."