In my travels around the country during this past year to hand out our new CBP badges, and at town hall meetings and other events, I have had the privilege to meet and talk with many of you. I have been impressed by your commitment to ensuring that our agency is able to carry out our priority homeland security mission. Together, during 2004, we made great strides in achieving what Secretary Tom Ridge has called "One Face at the Border" - one unified agency at and between the ports of entry to manage and secure our Nation's borders. With the creation of the CBP Officer occupation, 18,000 former Customs Inspectors, Canine Enforcement Officers and Immigration Inspectors were converted to the new CBP Officer position, enhancing CBP's ability to perform our anti-terrorism and traditional missions. And, with the creation of the new CBP Agriculture Specialist position, the conversion of legacy AQI Inspectors, and the cross-training of CBP Officers, our ability to protect our Nation against agro-bio terrorist threats and secure America's agriculture and economy has never been better. Indeed, as a result of creating one border agency for the United States government, we are more effectively organized to perform our priority and all of our traditional missions.

This year, we developed a national strategy for the Border Patrol that will more effectively deploy technology and tactical infrastructure in order to reach our goal of control of our borders, particularly our borders with Mexico and Canada. We welcomed the Office of Air and Marine Operations - over 1,000 pilots, air and marine enforcement officers, detection system specialists, support personnel, and headquarters staff - to CBP. And, we were pleased to have over 300 mission support personnel join CBP to provide mission support services under the Department of Homeland Security's shared services initiative.

In 2004, we achieved a number of significant milestones. We have Container Security Initiative (CSI) agreements with 21 countries, and CSI is now operational in 33 foreign ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) has become the largest government/private partnership to arise from 9/11, with over 7,000 private sector participants. Three months ahead of schedule, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) is now operational at all Border Patrol stations; to date, over 23,000 individuals with criminal records have been identified and arrested. And, the Immigration Security Initiative (ISI) was successfully launched in two foreign airports and is already demonstrating significant results.

Over the last twelve months, CBP worked to ensure that employees of our new agency were prepared to meet the mission of defending the homeland. CBP Officers, Agriculture Specialists and Border Patrol Agents received training to better ensure that they have the tools and knowledge needed to carry out their duties. And, with the consolidation of the Border Patrol Academy into one location, the establishment of the Professional Development Center for CBP Agriculture Specialists, and other significant training initiatives, we are providing comprehensive training for our world-class workforce.

The year ahead will present new challenges and opportunities for CBP. Going forward, we are implementing a multi-layered border security strategy, working with our foreign counterparts and employing intelligence, technology, and advanced information. We will further extend our zone of security beyond our physical borders through bilateral partnership with other countries, as well as through private-sector partnerships. We will continue to make our borders smarter by using our detection technology and capabilities, and by using and analyzing advance information on people and goods coming into our country to assess their risk, especially their risk for the terrorist threat. In sum, we will expand our efforts to defend our borders against terrorists and their weapons through the use of technology, advanced information, risk-management, and collaborative ventures with the trade and foreign governments. And, in all that we do, we remain committed to developing and supporting the people of CBP – a world-class, highly professional law enforcement organization.

I hope that you will join me in reflecting back with pride on our collective accomplishments over the last year. No other agency of our government has a more important mission than CBP. The job that each of you do every day is extraordinarily important to the protection of our country. As Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, I extend my warmest wishes to you and your families for a safe and joyous holiday and New Year. I want to particularly acknowledge and thank those of you who will be on duty during this holiday season.

Robert C. Bonner
Commissioner