TUCSON, Ariz. – This Fourth of July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would like to remind the public that travel restrictions remain in place and for those essential travelers, fireworks are prohibited from entry into the United States.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, CBP would like to offer helpful tips for those crossing the border on essential travel.
To determine if travel is essential vs. non-essential, please reference the Federal Register Notice at https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2020-06253.
If essential travel is necessary, please follow Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html to stay safe.
CBP officers in Arizona continue their enforcement posture to prevent potentially dangerous products such as fireworks from entering the U.S. Fireworks are prohibited items. If travelers do arrive at the ports of entry with fireworks and properly declare them, confiscation of the merchandise is required, typically without penalty.
Failure to declare the merchandise can result in penalties ranging from seizure of the contraband, to seizure of the transporting vehicle and monetary fines equal to the U.S. dollar value of the prohibited item(s). In addition, arrest and prosecution are possible in the more serious cases.
Do not pack a pest. There are many items are restricted or prohibited from entering the United States. For more information on prohibited/restricted items, visit CBP’s Know Before You Go website at https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go
Essential travelers can monitor wait times by visiting CBP’s Border Wait Time (BWT) web page at https://bwt.cbp.gov/ or download the BWT app via Google Play or the Apple App Store.
CBP has numerous resources and articles at https://www.cbp.gov/ to ensure that your travels are fast and safe.