see also: in January 2005 Press Releases:   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Reinstates Testing of the Automated Commercial Environment at Blaine   CBP Officers Seize Almost Six Tons of Marijuana at Otay Mesa   National Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar Transfers Command to Chief Patrol Agent Michael C. Nicley   Compliance Date for Implementation of FAST Card Requirement for BRASS Shipment Drivers Begins May 1   Personal Radiation Detectors Alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers to Radioactive Emission   Port of Calexico to Employ High-Tech Security Equipment ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized over 100 tons of narcotics and apprehended more than 69,000 immigration violators at Southern California ports of entry during federal fiscal year 2004 that ended September 30, officials announced today.

CBP was formed in March 2003 under the Department of Homeland Security, unifying the operations of Customs, Immigration and Agricultural inspectors and the Border Patrol working at and between the ports of entry. The statistics being released do not reflect enforcement efforts of the Border Patrol nor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

CBP officers working at federal border stations in San Diego and Imperial counties seized 23 percent of all narcotics confiscated at ports of entry on the nation’s borders, including: 193,181 pounds of marijuana, 3,763 pounds of cocaine, 61 pounds of heroin and 810 pounds of methamphetamine during the fiscal year. During the previous year, officers seized 139,446 pounds of marijuana, 2,703 pounds of cocaine, 109 pounds of heroin and 1,185 pounds of methamphetamine.

CBP Officers at ports in the two-county area saw a surge in immigration enforcement during the year. Officers apprehended 69,243 immigration violators in FY 2004, over 42 percent of all apprehensions at ports of entry on the Southwest border and a 37 percent increase compared to the previous fiscal year when 50,458 were apprehended.

Those intercepted include 49,034 undocumented immigrants being smuggled in vehicles through the ports of entry, up from 27,101 the previous year. The apprehensions of smuggled migrants on the California border represent over 93 percent of all those being smuggled into the U.S. at ports of entry.

In a disturbing trend, the number of undocumented minors, including infants and youngsters, apprehended at ports of entry climbed to 6,478, up almost 17 percent over the previous year.

“We have noticed an upward trend in the number of undocumented persons apprehended during smuggling attempts, which we attribute in part to tighter security by our officers at the border stations and increased efforts by our Border Patrol division between the ports,” said Adele Fasano, director of field operations for CBP in San Diego. “But, a dangerous and potentially tragic trend over the past few years increasingly involves the smuggling of young children in a wide variety of vehicle compartments and conveyances that place them at risk of injury or death at the hands of smugglers whose only interest is money. We plan to continue to work closely with Mexican officials, our stakeholders, community organizations and the media to bring attention to this disturbing trend in an effort to educate undocumented families not to entrust their youngsters to smugglers.”

Over 37,400 fraudulent documents were confiscated by CBP officers in FY 2004, an increase over the 26,468 seized the year before. Officers also seized 2,350 vehicles for customs violations and 11,933 vehicles for immigration violations compared with 2,261 and 6,784 respectively during FY 2003.

Officers made 1,451 apprehensions, over 17 percent of the national total, for outstanding state and federal warrants including individuals wanted for murder, rape, robbery and theft, up from 597 the previous year. The upward surge was due in part to full implementation of several biometric technologies such as the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) and the Biometric Validation System (BVS). IAFIS enables CBP officers and Border Patrol agents to search fingerprint databases simultaneously using the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the FBI fingerprint database. It provides rapid identification of individuals with outstanding criminal warrants by electronically comparing a live-scanned fingerprint against a huge nationwide database of previously captured fingerprints. BVS is useful to verify the identity of travelers using laser visa documents. The expansion of a specialized team of officers dedicated to the identification and processing of individuals with outstanding warrants or parole violations also added to the increase in total apprehensions.

A force of over 1,500 CBP officers in San Diego and Imperial counties processed over 98.5 million people, accounting for 23 percent of all those entering the U.S. and 38 percent of all those processed on the Southwest border last year. Officers inspected 34 million passenger vehicles, 157,000 buses, 1.1 million commercial trucks, 7,832 aircraft, 548 trains, and 3,267 vessels and acted on 1.1 million cargo containers during FY2004. CBP processed imports into California valued at $25.4 billion during the fiscal year, up from $23.9 billion the year before. CBP agricultural specialists made 46,091 inspections of goods during the year, up 13 percent from 40,676 the previous year.

“Efforts to unify the border agencies into one cohesive presence that makes better use of information, risk management, staffing, technology and other tools are paying dividends in terms of improved security on the border,” Fasano said. “I believe CBP’s performance during the fiscal year demonstrates our commitment to find new and better ways to facilitate the processing of all law abiding travelers and trade while denying entry to terrorists, narcotics and smugglers of undocumented people.”

Numerous accomplishments occurred during the year in the area of cross border traffic facilitation. The U.S. Visit program was inaugurated in January at San Diego airport to record the entry of almost 11,000 foreign visitors. Enrollment in the SENTRI (an acronym for Secure Electronic Network for Traveler’s Rapid Inspection) program at San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border stations expanded from 45,000 to over 60,000 participants. A pedestrian SENTRI lane at the San Ysidro border station was opened to test biometric technologies. A three-year, $18.8 million construction project to improve aging facilities at the Tecate port of entry in eastern San Diego county neared completion. Officials also expanded outreach and coordination efforts on various trade security initiatives to stakeholders such as Customs brokers, trucking associations, freight forwarders and others.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.