Order Code RS21899
August 4, 2004
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Border Security: Key Agencies
and Their Missions
Blas Nuñez-Neto
Analyst in Social Legislation
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
After the massive reorganization of federal agencies precipitated by the creation of
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there are now four main federal agencies
charged with securing the United States’ borders: the Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), which patrols the border and conducts immigrations, customs, and
agricultural inspections at ports of entry; the Bureau of Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement (ICE), which investigates immigrations and customs violations in the
interior of the country; the United States Coast Guard, which provides maritime and port
security; and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is responsible
for securing the nation’s land, rail, and air transportation networks.
This report is meant to serve as a primer on the key federal agencies charged with
border security; as such it will briefly describe each agency’s role in securing our
nation’s borders. This report will be updated as needed.
In the wake of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress decided that
enhancing the security of the United States’ borders was a vitally important component
of preventing future terrorist attacks. Before September 11, 2001, border security fell
piecemeal under the mandate of many diverse federal departments, including but not
limited to: the Department of Justice (the Immigration and Naturalization Service); the
Department of the Treasury (the Customs Service); the Department of Agriculture (the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service); and the Department of Transportation (the
Coast Guard).
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) consolidated most federal
agencies operating along the U.S. borders within the newly formed DHS. Most of these
agencies are now located in the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security (BTS),
which was charged with securing the borders; territorial waters; terminals; waterways; and
air, land, and sea transportation systems of the United States; and managing the nation’s
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ports of entries.1 The lone exception is the U.S. Coast Guard, which remains a standalone
division within DHS.
The BTS comprises three main agencies: (1) the CBP, which is charged with
overseeing commercial operations, inspections, and land border patrol functions, (2) ICE,
which oversees investigations, alien detentions and removals, air/marine drug interdiction
operations, and federal protective services, and (3) the TSA, which is charged with
protecting the nation’s air, land, and rail transportation systems against all forms of attack
to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. Conceptually speaking, CBP
provides the front line responders2 to immigrations and customs violations and serves as
the law enforcement arm of DHS, while ICE serves as the investigative branch. Although
it is not located within the BTS, the U.S. Coast Guard also serves an important border
security function by patrolling the nation’s territorial and adjacent international waters
against foreign threats. Combined FY2004 appropriations for BTS and the Coast Guard
equaled $17.91 billion,3 while the combined full time equivalent (FTE) manpower totaled
142,255 employees.4
The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
CBP combined all the previous border law enforcement agencies under one
administrative umbrella. This involved absorbing employees from the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS), the Border Patrol, the Customs Service, and the Department
of Agriculture. CBP’s mission is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering
the country, provide security at U.S. borders and ports of entry, apprehend illegal
immigrants, stem the flow of illegal drugs, and protect American agricultural and
economic interests from harmful pests and diseases.5 As it performs its official missions,
CBP maintains two overarching and sometimes conflicting goals: increasing security
while facilitating legitimate trade and travel.6 In FY2004, CBP appropriations totaled
$4.90 billion7 and manpower totaled 30,836 FTE.
1 For a more detailed information on DHS, see CRS Report RL31549, Department of Homeland
Security: Consolidation of Border and Transportation Security Agencies, by Jennifer Lake.
2 Many argue that the State Department’s Consular posts abroad provide the first line of defense
by reviewing visa applications and determining which foreign nationals will be provided with the
documentation required to legally enter the country.
3 For a more detailed breakdown of DHS appropriations, see CRS Report RL32302,
Appropriations for FY2005: Department of Homeland Security, by Jennifer Lake.
4 All manpower estimates taken from The Department of Homeland Security, Performance
Budget Overview, Fiscal Year 2005 Congressional Budget Justification.
5 U.S. Congress, House Appropriations Committee, Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Bill, 2005, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 108-541.
6 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Performance and Annual Report: Fiscal Year 2003, p. 25.
7 While CBP administers the US-VISIT program, the $328 million appropriated for the program
was placed in a separate account directly under the Undersecretary for Border and Transportation
Security by the conference report.

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Between official ports of entry, the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) enforces U.S.
immigration law and other federal laws along the border. As currently comprised, the
USBP is the uniformed law enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland security.
Its primary mission is to detect and prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass
destruction, and unauthorized aliens into the country, and to interdict drug smugglers and
other criminals. The USBP is thus vitally important to our nation’s defense against
terrorists and all others attempting to enter goods or persons into the country illegally. In
the course of discharging its duties the USBP patrols over 8000 miles of our international
borders with Mexico and Canada and the coastal waters around Florida and Puerto Rico.
At official ports of entry, CBP officers are responsible for conducting immigrations,
customs, and agricultural inspections on entering aliens. As a result of the new “one face
at the border” initiative, CBP inspectors are being cross-trained to perform all three types
of inspections in order to streamline the border crossing process. This initiative unifies
the prior inspections processes, providing entering aliens with one primary inspector who
is trained to determine whether a more detailed secondary inspection is required.8
CPB inspectors enforce immigration law by examining and verifying the travel
documents of incoming international travelers to ensure they have a legal right to enter
the country. On the customs side, CBP inspectors ensure that all imports and exports
comply with U.S. laws and regulations, collect and protect U.S. revenues, and guard
against the smuggling of contraband. Additionally, CBP is responsible for conducting
agricultural inspections at ports of entry in order to enforce a wide array of animal and
plant protection laws. In order to carry out these varied functions, CBP inspectors have
a broad range of powers to inspect all persons, vehicles, conveyances, merchandise, and
baggage entering the United States from a foreign country.9
In order to execute its various missions, CBP maintains and utilizes several
databases. CBP also administers the new US-VISIT program, which requires all
incoming non-immigrant aliens to submit to a biometric scan.10 Additionally, CBP
administers the Container Security Initiative, a program in which CBP inspectors
pre-screen U.S.-bound marine containers at foreign ports of loading around the world.
Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
ICE merged the investigative functions of the former INS and the Customs Service,
the INS detention and removal functions, most INS intelligence operations, the Federal
Protective Service, and the Federal Air Marshals Service. This makes ICE the principal
investigative arm for DHS. ICE’s mission is to detect and prevent terrorist and criminal
acts by targeting the people, money, and materials that support terrorist and criminal
8 Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Press Secretary, “Homeland Security
Announces New Initiatives,” press release, Sept. 2, 2003.
9 For a more detailed analysis of inspections practices along the U.S. border, including the
legislative foundation for CBP powers, a history of inspections practices, and the policy issues
involved, refer to CRS Report RL32399, Border Security: Inspections Practices, Policies, and
Issues, by Ruth Ellen Wasem.
10 For further discussion and analysis of the US-VISIT program, see CRS Report RL32234, U.S.
Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program (US-VISIT), by Lisa Seghetti.

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networks.11 As such they are an important component of our nation’s border security
network even though their main focus is on interior enforcement. In FY2004, ICE
appropriations totaled $3.43 billion and the agency had 14,410 FTE employees.
Unlike CBP, whose jurisdiction is confined to law enforcement activities along the
border, ICE special agents investigate immigrations and customs violations in the interior
of the United States. ICE’s mandate includes uncovering national security threats such
as weapons of mass destruction or potential terrorists, identifying criminal aliens for
removal, probing immigration-related document and benefit fraud, investigating work-site
immigration violations, exposing alien and contraband smuggling operations, interdicting
narcotics shipments,12 and detaining illegal immigrants and ensuring their departure (or
removal) from the United States.13
ICE is also responsible for the collection, analysis and dissemination of strategic and
tactical intelligence data pertaining to homeland security, infrastructure protection, and
the illegal movement of people, money, and cargo within the U.S.14 In December 2003,
the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) was transferred from the TSA to ICE. FAMS
is responsible for detecting, deterring and defeating hostile acts targeting U.S. air carriers,
airports, passengers and crews by placing undercover armed agents in airports and on
flights. Lastly, ICE polices and secures more than 8,800 federal facilities nationwide via
the Federal Protective Service.15
The United States Coast Guard
The Coast Guard was incorporated into DHS as a standalone agency in 2002. Their
overall mission is to protect the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests in
maritime regions — at the nation’s ports and waterways, along the coast, and in
international waters.16 The Coast Guard is thus the nation’s principal maritime law
enforcement authority and the lead federal agency for the maritime component of
homeland security, including port security. Among other things, the Coast Guard is
responsible for: evaluating, boarding, and inspecting commercial ships as they approach
U.S. waters; countering terrorist threats in U.S. ports; and for helping to protect U.S. Navy
ships in U.S. ports. A high-ranking Coast Guard officer in each port area serves as the
Captain of the Port and is the lead federal official responsible for the security and safety
11 Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Border Security and Immigration
Enforcement Fact Sheet, at [http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/factsheets/061704det_FS.htm].
12 Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Office of Investigations Fact Sheet,
[http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/factsheets/investigation_FS.htm].
13 Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Organization, at
[http://www.ice.gov/graphics/about/organization/index.htm].
14 Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Office of Intelligence Organization, at
[http://www.ice.gov/graphics/about/organization/org_intell.htm].
15 Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Organization, at
[http://www.ice.gov/graphics/about/organization/index.htm].
16 U.S. Coast Guard, Overview at [http://www.uscg.mil/overview/].

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of the vessels and waterways in their geographic zone.17 In FY2004, Coast Guard
appropriations totaled $6.78 billion and the agency had 45,532 FTE military and civilian
employees.
As part of Operation Noble Eagle (military operations in homeland defense and civil
support to U.S. federal, state and local agencies), the Coast Guard is at a heightened state
of alert protecting more than 361 ports and 95,000 miles of coastline. The Coast Guard’s
homeland security role includes protecting ports, the flow of commerce, and the marine
transportation system from terrorism; maintaining maritime border security against illegal
drugs, illegal aliens, firearms, and weapons of mass destruction; ensuring that the U.S. can
rapidly deploy and resupply military assets by maintaining the Coast Guard at a high state
of readiness as well as by keeping marine transportation open for the other military
services; protecting against illegal fishing and indiscriminate destruction of living marine
resources; preventing and responding to oil and hazardous material spills; and
coordinating efforts and intelligence with federal, state, and local agencies.18
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
The TSA was created as a direct result of the events of September 11 and is charged
with protecting the United States’ air, land, and rail transportation systems to ensure
freedom of movement for people and commerce. The Aviation and Transportation
Security Act (ATSA, P.L. 107-71) created the TSA and included provisions that
established a federal baggage screener workforce, required checked baggage to be
screened by explosive detection systems, and significantly expanded FAMS. In 2002,
TSA was transferred to the newly formed DHS from the Department of Transportation;
as previously noted, in 2003 the Federal Air Marshal program was taken out of TSA and
transferred to ICE. In FY2004, TSA appropriations totaled $2.52 billion and the agency
had 51,346 FTE employees.
TSA is responsible for guaranteeing the security of aviation in the country. In order
to achieve this mission TSA assumed responsibility for screening air passengers and
baggage, a function that had previously resided with the air carriers. TSA is also charged
with ensuring the security of air cargo and overseeing security measures at airports to
limit access to restricted areas, secure airport perimeters, and conduct background checks
for airport personnel with access to secure areas, among other things.19 However, an opt
out provision in ATSA will permit every airport with federal screeners to request a switch
to private screeners commencing in November 2004.20
17 For an in depth discussion of the Coast Guard and port security, see CRS Report RS21125,
Homeland Security: Coast Guard Operations — Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald
O’Rourke, and CRS Report RL31733, Port and Maritime Security: Background and Issues for
Congress, by John Frittelli.
18 U.S. Coast Guard, Homeland Security Factcard, at
[http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/comrel/factfile/Factcards/Homeland.htm].
19 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Aviation Security: Efforts to Measure Effectiveness
and Address Challenges, GAO-04-232T, Nov. 5, 2003, pp. 5-6.
20 See CRS Report RL32383, A Return to Private Security at Airports?: Background and Issues
(continued...)

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ATSA authorized the TSA to create a Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening
System (CAPPS II), a program that would compare the basic personal information
provided by airline passengers to varied commercial databases in order to confirm their
identity. However, due to mounting privacy concerns and operational problems, TSA
recently announced it is scrapping its plans to implement CAPPSII this fall and will
design a new program in its stead.21
Conclusion
This report has briefly outlined the roles and responsibilities of the four main
agencies within the DHS charged with securing our nation’s borders: the CBP, ICE, the
U.S. Coast Guard, and the TSA. It should be noted, however, that while the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 consolidated all the agencies with primary border security roles in
DHS, there are many other federal agencies involved in the difficult task of securing our
nation’s borders. While border security may not be in their central mission, they
nevertheless provide important border security functions. These agencies include, but are
not limited to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigrations Services within DHS, which
processes permanent residency and citizenship applications, as well as asylum and refugee
processing; the Department of State, which is responsible for visa issuances overseas; the
Department of Agriculture, which establishes the agricultural policies that CBP Inspectors
execute; the Department of Justice, whose law enforcement branches (the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)) coordinate with CBP and
ICE agents when their investigations involve border or customs violations; the
Department of Health and Human Services, through the Food and Drug Administration
and the Center for Disease Control; the Department of Transportation, whose Federal
Aviation Administration monitors all airplanes entering American air space from abroad;
and lastly the Central Intelligence Agency, which is an important player in the efforts to
keep terrorists and other foreign agents from entering the country. Additionally, due to
their location, state and local responders from jurisdictions along the Canadian and
Mexican borders also play a significant role in the efforts to secure our nation’s borders.
20 (...continued)
Regarding the Opt-Out Provision of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, by
Bartholomew Elias.
21 Chris Strohm, “DHS Scraps Computer Pre-Screening System, Starts Over,” Government
Executive Online, July 15, 2004, at [http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0704/071504c1.htm].

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