U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), part of the United States Department of Homeland Security, is charged with preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States. CBP also is responsible for apprehending individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, stemming the flow of illegal drugs and other contraband; protecting our agricultural and economic interests from harmful pests and diseases; protecting American businesses from theft of their intellectual property; and regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. trade laws.
To accomplish its missions, CBP has a workforce of over 40,000 employees, including inspectors, canine enforcement officers, Border Patrol agents, trade specialists, and mission support staff.
CBP became an official agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003, combining employees from the Department of Agriculture, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Border Patrol and the United States Customs Service. CBP is headed by Commissioner Robert Bonner.
History of the U.S. Customs Service
Responding to the urgent need for revenue following the American Revolutionary War, the First Congress passed and President George Washington signed the Tariff Act of July 4, 1789, which authorized the collection of duties on imported goods. Four weeks later, on July 31, the fifth act of Congress established the United States Customs Service and its ports of entry.
For over 100 years after its birth, the U.S. Customs Service was the primary source of funds for the entire government, and paid for the nation's early growth and infrastructure. Purchases include the Louisiana and Oregon territories; Florida and Alaska; funding the National Road and the Transcontinental Railroad; builing many of the nation's lighthouses; the U.S. Military and Naval academies, and Washington D.C.
History of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Shortly after the U.S. Civil War, some states started to pass their own immigration laws, which prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in 1875 that immigration was a federal responsibility. The Immigration Act of 1891 established an Office of the Superintendent of Immigration within the Treasury Department. This office was responsible for admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking admission to the United States and for implementing national immigration policy. 'Immigrant Inspectors', as they were called then, were stationed at major U.S. ports of entry collecting manifests of arriving passengers. A 'head tax' of fifty cents was collected on each immigrant.
Paralleling some immigration concerns of today, back in the early 1900's Congress's primary interest in immigration was to protect American workers and wages: the reason it had become a federal concern in the first place. This made immigration more a matter of commerce than revenue. In 1903, Congress transferred the Bureau of Immigration to the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor .
After World War One, Congress attempted to stem to flow of immigrants, still mainly coming from Europe, by passing laws in 1921 and 1924 limiting the number of newcomers by assigning a quota to each nationality based upon its representation in previous U.S. census figures. Each year, the U.S. State Department issued a limited number of visas; only those immigrants who had obtained them and could present valid visas were permitted entry.
President Franklin Roosevelt moved the INS from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice in 1940.
External links
Last updated: 08-22-2005 18:39:41
