Photo Credit: Gerald Nino

CBP officers circulate among passengers as they retrieve their luggage at the Philadelphia International Airport.

A little history – going back further
The Algonquian Indian tribes, Delaware and Shawnee, occupied this region before the first Europeans arrived. By 1609, Dutch and Swedish colonists had explored, traded, and farmed along the Delaware River. A Dutch trading post and stockade were established within the present limits of Philadelphia in 1623.

In March of 1681, William Penn received the title to Pennsylvania in a land grant from King Charles II of England. Penn assigned a commission to select a location on the Delaware River to establish Philadelphia in October 1682. Penn's plan for the new city would influence the future growth of Philadelphia and help set the urban planning pattern for most cities in America.

Photo Credit: Gerald Nino

Inside lobby of the Philadelphia Customhouse.

By 1774, Philadelphia had become the military, economic, and political center of the colonies. The First Continental Congress convened at Carpenters' Hall. They rejected the plan that denounced British policy and instead adopted a commercial boycott against British trade goods.

At Independence Hall, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and announced it to the world. Philadelphia served as the seat of national government from 1776 to 1800 when Washington, D.C., became the capital. In 1800, Philadelphia was the largest U.S. city, and it held this distinction until 1830.

Philadelphia was the first large city north of the Mason-Dixon line to be involved in the Civil War. The city was home to several regiments of infantry and cavalry who fought for the Union and supplied much of the material needed by the Union army.

Today…
Philadelphia today is the second largest city on the East Coast and the fifth largest city in the United States. According to the 2000 Census, Philadelphia has 1,517,550 citizens.

The city has hot, humid summers and moderately cold winters. In January, temperatures average 34°F and in July, 77°F. The average annual precipitation is 41 inches.

Tourism is Philadelphia’s number one industry, bringing in $9 billion a year in direct, indirect, and trickle-down spending. That’s $1.14 million spent each day on travel, hotels, meals, and shopping. Only the performing arts, spectator sports, and related businesses bring in more money.

Photo Credit: Gerald Nino

An Agriculture K-9 officer inspects luggage at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Philadelphia is the largest oil-refining center on the East Coast. It boasts seven oil-refining plants with an annual output of petroleum and petroleum products worth more than $100 million. Philadelphia has the country's largest shipyard, locomotive plant and aircraft manufacturing plant.

The port
The port of Philadelphia is a service port. For those of you, like this author, who don’t know the difference between a service port and a port of entry: a service port has a full range of cargo processing functions, including inspections, entry, collections, and verification. A service port also supports the smaller ports around it by providing the cargo processing functions that the smaller port may not have.

The port of Philadelphia is actually composed of many separate facilities: the Atlantic City International Airport, Atlantic City, N.J.; the Philadelphia International Airport; Philadelphia’s Cargo City (airport cargo office); the deferred inspection site at the Philadelphia International Airport; CES-Associates Warehouse (seaport cargo office); the Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania; United Parcel Service in Philadelphia; and the Trenton Mercer Airport in New Jersey.

More than 150 uniformed officers work at the port of Philadelphia. Several of those employees received the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board 2004 Excellence in Government Awards for their work in keeping the port running smoothly during the relocation to new airport facilities. (See the September 2004 issue of Customs and Border Protection Today.) There are also two canine teams that work both passengers and cargo.

“If someone asked me for one word to describe the port of Philadelphia, it would most likely be ‘perseverance’,” said Port Director Michael J. Lovejoy. “Since the merger of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Customs Service, and U.S. Agriculture Department into U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the port of Philadelphia, in my opinion, has taken the lead in putting forth a professional attitude and establishing itself as one of the premier ports in interdicting cargo and passengers who are, or may be, a threat to the security of the United States.”

Airport
The Philadelphia International Airport has 56 primary inspection booths where passengers from Europe and the Caribbean arriving on 27 to 38 international flights a day are inspected.

In fiscal year 2004, more than 1.3 million passengers came through those booths. Philadelphia has become a major arrival point for international passengers who want a destination without the hustle and bustle of New York. In addition, Philadelphia is a close jumping off point for those who want to visit other major cities in the northeast.

Agriculture
The port of Philadelphia currently has 12 agriculture specialists and four technicians who inspect both passengers and cargo. The primary imports seen in passenger luggage are salami, sausages, ham, and fresh fruit. Philadelphia is also a major entry point for cut flowers, fruits and vegetables. The difficulties the agriculture specialists run into are pretty much the same all over; passengers who don’t declare prohibited items and importers who don’t provide complete descriptions or proper supporting documents to justify allowable shipments.

The agriculture specialists also have a booth at the prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show each year. The booth provides information to the public on plant pests and diseases and received the 2004 Philadelphia Flower Show award for an exhibit of distinction in the nonacademic educational category. The Philadelphia Flower Show is the largest indoor flower show in the world, attracting 275,000 visitors annually over an eight-day period.

Philadelphia is the largest port of entry in the United States for bulk fruit imports and for Australian and New Zealand meat. The port also does more fumigations than any other port, with Chilean grapes as the number one commodity fumigated.

Vessels and rail
CBP officers inspect more than 2,500 vessels per year, including coastwise and foreign, at ports in Philadelphia, Delaware, and New Jersey. These vessels carry oil, steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fruit, meat, textiles, and machinery. The major issues at the port of Philadelphia are not related to specific types of merchandise; rather the concerns are trade issues such as quota, antidumping, intellectual property rights, and textile transshipments.

In addition to marine terminals and airports, Philadelphia is also home to three major railroads and a passenger cruise line.

Photo Credit: Gerald Nino

CBP officers prepare the mobile x-ray system at the seaport in Philadelphia, Pa.

And now…
Philadelphia is a city that has been important throughout the history of the United States. It was one of the first customs collection districts to be established, in July 1789. The port of Philadelphia and the CBP employees that call Philadelphia home today still play a very important role in safeguarding the United States from terrorists and terrorist weapons, plant and animal materials that could devastate our agriculture, and trade goods that could injure our citizens or our economy.

Other “firsts” for Philadelphia 1689 – First public school 1731 – Benjamin Franklin established the Colonies' first public library 1736 – First volunteer fire company 1744 – First novel published in America 1755 – America's first hospital 1746 – America's first stock exchange 1752 – First fire insurance company 1759 – First life insurance company 1774 – First Continental Congress 1777 – First American flag 1781 – First chartered commercial bank 1874 – First zoo in the United States 1876 – First World's Fair in the United States 1941 – Pennsylvania's first commercial television station