AGENCIES TYPICALLY LOCATED AT LPOE
General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service—The GSA,
through their Public Buildings Service, is responsible for the design and construction of
land ports of entry as well as the leasing of some land ports of entry. GSA also provides
general management and takes care of various tasks, such as maintenance and repair,
at the land ports of entry.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—CBP facilitates legitimate trade and
travel while using all of the resources at its disposal to protect and defend the United
States from those who would do the United States harm. Generally, CBP inspects goods
and people seeking entry into the U.S. at land ports of entry. Depending on the need a
secondary inspection may be conducted by either CBP, Veterinary Services (VS), or the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The U.S. Border Patrol is part of CBP, but does
not participate in inspections at the land ports of entry.
The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)—The
FHWA works with its state, federal, and international partners to ensure the safe and
efficient movement of people and goods across borders. With its counterparts in Mexico
and Canada, FHWA creates joint working groups to cooperate on addressing the
challenges of improving mobility and security at overland border crossings. The FHWA’s
offices will review the projects to make sure they meet eligibility requirements based on
information provided by the states. Additionally, the FHWA ensures Canadian or
Mexican officials have provided satisfactory assurances that the project will be
constructed to standards equivalent to those in the United States.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—FDA conducts inspections to control the
import of foods, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, biological products, animal feeds
and drugs, and radiation-emitting instruments. For more than a year, CBP has worked
with the Food and Drug Administration to enforce two key provisions of the Bio-
Terrorism Act of 2002—the registration of facilities that manufacture, process, or hold
food for import into the U.S., and the prior notice of those shipments presented for entry.
More than 8,000 CBP Officers and Agriculture Specialists have been trained and
certified to detect and intercept shipments and to perform Bio-Terrorism Act-related work
at more than 300 ports of entry.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (F&WS)—F&WS regulates the importation of birds
protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and
the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA).
Department of Justice’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)—The DOJ,
whose law enforcement branches (the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug
Enforcement Agency) coordinate with CBP and Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) agents when their investigations involve immigration violations.
For more information about GSA’s Land Ports of Entry
Program, visit http://www.gsa.gov/lpoe
LAST UPDATED: 11/9/2011
Center for Disease Control (CDC)—The CDC develops and implements strategies to
monitor for diseases on people, animals, cargo, and conveyances arriving at the U.S.’s
ports of entry. The CDC reviews operations to ensure it effectively applies scientific data
to programs used to monitor the importation of quarantinable and other specified
diseases.
Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—ICE’s mission is to detect
and prevent terrorist and criminal acts by targeting the people, money, and materials that
support terrorist and criminal networks. Unlike CBP, whose jurisdiction is confined to
law enforcement activities along the border, ICE special agents investigate immigrations
and customs violations in the interior of the United States. ICE is also responsible for
the collection, analysis and dissemination of strategic and tactical intelligence data
pertaining to homeland security, infrastructure protection, and the illegal movement of
people, money, and cargo within the United States.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—The TSA was created as a direct
result of the events of September 11 and is charged with protecting the United States’
air, land, and rail transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and
commerce.
U.S. Border Patrol (USBP)—The USBP enforces U.S. immigration law and other
federal laws between official ports of entry along the border and in the interior of the
United States. As currently comprised, the USBP is the uniformed law enforcement arm
of the Department of Homeland security. Its primary mission is to detect and prevent the
entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and unauthorized aliens into the
country, and to interdict drug smugglers and other criminals.
Department of Agriculture (USDA)—The USDA establishes the agricultural policies
that CBP Inspectors execute. Among other things, the USDA implements stray animal
control policies, provides inspection services when imported animals are re-assembled
after importation, and assists with notification of livestock movement to receiving states.
USDA also works with Homeland Security border inspectors to train inspectors and set
policy for plants, animals, and commodities entering the United States. USDA employs
new Import Surveillance Liaison Inspectors, who are stationed around the nation at
Import Houses and ports of entry to enhance surveillance of imported products.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)—The CIA is an important player in the efforts to
keep terrorists and other foreign agents from entering the country. The CIA informs INS
officers of potential terrorists, including possible operatives trying to enter the United
States.
For more information about GSA’s Land Ports of Entry
Program, visit http://www.gsa.gov/lpoe
LAST UPDATED: 11/9/2011