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El Paso, Texas – Change was the one constant for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection field operations in El Paso during the recently completed fiscal year 2008 which began October 1, 2007 and ended September 30, 2008.

A new director was named, area ports received upgrades to prepare for the June 2009 implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, and expansion continued at a pair of major El Paso border crossings. One thing that did not change was the anti-terror mission which resulted in significant enforcement activity at area ports during the previous 12-month period.

One highlight for FY 2008 was the naming of Ana Hinojosa as the new director of field operations for El Paso. In the first of its kind change of command ceremony for the agency on a national level, Hinojosa was sworn in before family friends and colleagues during a June 20 event. Ms. Hinojosa overseas CBP field operations at ports of entry in El Paso, Fabens, Fort Hancock, Presidio in Texas and Santa Teresa, Columbus, Antelope Wells and Albuquerque in New Mexico. Hinojosa replaced Luis Garcia, who retired in late 2007.

Another highlight during the previous 12-month period was the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative on January 31. Under WHTI, CBP officers working at land border ports of entry are no longer accepting oral declarations of citizenship from arriving U.S. citizens. Entering citizens must now present a passport, pass card or other WHTI compliant document. In the event they have not obtained those documents, CBP officers are allowing people to present a government issued photo ID and proof of citizenship during the current transition period. Full implementation of WHTI is slated for June 2009.

In order to be ready for full WHTI implementation, CBP spent the summer of 2008 preparing the primary inspection booths at the El Paso, Fabens, Fort Hancock Presidio and Columbus ports of entry for WHTI. The construction involved technology upgrades that included both software and hardware updates and the deployment of Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID technology. This technology, also used in CBP’s trusted traveler programs since 1995, will help create more efficient borders thanks to newly available RFID-enabled documents such as the passport card and enhanced driver’s license. CBP also launched an aggressive WHTI media campaign with the theme of “Improving to Keep You Moving” during the summer of 2008 in area media markets to advise the traveling public of the changes.

Major construction also continued at the Paso Del Norte and Ysleta ports of entry during the last fiscal year. Additional vehicle and pedestrian inspection lanes, a new canine kennel, and a significant expansion in office space highlight construction at PDN which is slated to end in June 2009. Construction at the Ysleta cargo facility included an expansion in the number of commercial truck primary inspection stations from six to eight, a new exit gate, and other less noticeable improvements. All elements of the Ysleta project should be completed by November 2008.

“The port improvements and facility upgrades will help streamline international travel and trade in this corridor for years to come,” said DFO Hinojosa.

Despite all the changes, CBP officers working at area ports of entry were kept busy during the past fiscal year processing arriving traffic and enforcing the laws of the nations.

During the past fiscal year, area CBP officers seized a total of 169,696 pounds of illegal drugs. The number was less than the 200,889 pounds they seized the previous year. The El Paso field office ranked number three out of 20 field offices nationwide in total drug seizure volume and the amount represented more than 18 percent of the entire total seized by CBP officers at all ports of entry around the country last fiscal year. The largest local drug seizure of the year occurred April 28, at the Bridge of the Americas cargo lot in El Paso when CBP officers seized 3,343 pounds of marijuana.

“There is no question that the hard work and dedication of area CBP officers had much to do with our enforcement success,” said Hinojosa. “Anti-terror is the mission but a wide variety contraband is often the dividend.”

CBP officers at area ports seized $2,798,710.00 in unreported currency during FY 2008, a dramatic increase when compared to the $432,285.00 the previous year. The figures represent money seized during inbound and outbound exams. The largest seizure of the year happened on February 25, when CBP officers working at the El Paso port of entry intercepted a northbound vehicle containing $1,858,085.

Area CBP officers performed 22,733,153 inspections of arriving foreign visitors in FY 2008, up slightly from the 22,564,920 inspections performed the previous year. Of that group, 7,918 were found to be inadmissible compared to 8,393 the previous fiscal year. A total of 991 were determined to be criminal aliens, down from the 1,120 encountered during FY 2007.

Area CBP officers performing agriculture exams recorded 67,206 quarantine material interceptions during FY 2008 compared to 95,560 in FY 2007. They also logged 4,530 pest interceptions during the previous 12-month period compared to 7,740 during the previous year.

“The interception of these prohibited items is important in preventing the introduction of pests and disease that pose a risk to the U.S. agriculture industry,” said Hinojosa. “The best course of action for anyone entering the U.S. from abroad is to declare all items they have acquired to avoid penalties.”

The traffic workload at area ports was substantial during the previous fiscal year. Area CBP officers processed 834,435 northbound commercial trucks in FY 2008, up from 809,127 the previous year. In FY 2008, area CBP officers processed 15,972,615 northbound cars compared to 16,314,960 in FY 2007. A total of 27,123 buses were processed by CBP area officers in FY 2008 compared to 20,764 the prior year. The total number of arriving people CBP officers processed for entry at ports of entry in west Texas and New Mexico during the last fiscal year was 37,200,081 compared to 39,641,129 in FY 2007.

El Paso Field Office Enforcement & Traffic Results Summary

	FY 2007	FY 2008
Total illegal drugs (pounds)	200,889	169,696
Marijuana (pounds)	199,711	168,900
Cocaine (pounds)	1,145	774
Heroin (pounds)	33	3
Methamphetamine (pounds)	0	5
Currency seized	$432,285	$2,798,710
Alien inspections	22,564,920	22,753,153
Inadmissible aliens	8,393	7,918
Criminal aliens encountered	1,120	991
Agriculture quarantine material intercepts	95,560	67,206
Agriculture pest intercepts	7,740	4,530
Northbound trucks	809,127	834,435
Northbound cars	16,314,960	15,972,615
Northbound buses	20,764	27,123
Northbound people	39,641,129	37,200,081

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.