MIAMI – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) Miami/Tampa Field Office today announced significant accomplishments during Fiscal Year 2017. The federal fiscal year started Oct. 1, 2016 and ended Sep. 30, 2017.
CBP Office of Field Operations in Florida includes travel and trade facilitation while securing over 1,200 miles of the coastal border with more than 2,500 front-line federal officers, agricultural specialists, trade and mission support personnel. The Miami Field Office encompasses five ports that stretch over 313 miles of Florida coastline, within which there are five seaports, including the top two cruise ship ports in the world; and nine airports, with Miami International Airport (MIA) ranking as the second busiest international airport among U.S. airports.
The Tampa Field Office encompasses the Area Ports of Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Both Field Offices also provide support to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Associate Chief Counsel, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the South Florida Federal Executive Board, and numerous other governmental agencies.
CBP OFO’s mission to protect the United States has seen many successful interceptions of criminals, contraband and pests. Among these successes:
CBP officers have made 6404 arrests; among these were individuals who had outstanding warrants for their arrests. There have been more than 145 firearms seized by CBP.
A total of $3,318,017 in undeclared currency was seized while conducting inbound and outbound inspections.
CBP officers seized a total of 24 pounds of heroin, 9,377 pounds of cocaine, and 609 pounds of marijuana during this fiscal year.
CBP agriculture specialists processed 154,837 agriculture quarantine material interceptions, and 22,101 pest interceptions, some of which were either the first time ever seen in the U.S. or others that could have had a significant agricultural impact nationwide.
CBP officers assigned to the Miami Seaport Vehicle Export Team have seized 30 vehicles with a domestic value of $833,737, which were stolen or had fraudulent paperwork. If not for the officers, the vehicles would be in other countries.
CBP officers processed approximately 27,858,508 travelers; this includes air and sea passengers.
CBP officers processed approximately 991,339 cargo shipping containers during Fiscal Year 2017, facilitating the import and export of billions of dollars worth of goods.
CBP has made many technological advancements to our ports, systems, and procedures to ensure that passengers are processed expeditiously while ensuring America’s security. CBP OFO encouraged frequent international air travelers to participate in Mobile Passport Control and Global Entry program at Tampa International Airport, Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and Orlando International Airport.
The Global Entry program allows trusted travelers to use an electronic kiosk that scans their travel documents to assure that we continue to move forward in our ability to accurately and expeditiously process arrivals. Mobile Passport Control is the first authorized app to expedite a traveler’s arrival into the United States. Eligible travelers may voluntarily submit their passport information and answers to inspection-related questions to CBP via a smartphone or tablet prior to arrival.
There have been a total of 47,388 global entry enrollments at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and 256,641 at Miami International Airport in Fiscal Year 2017. These numbers show a 42% increase in enrollments at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and a 42% increase at Miami International Airport compared to Fiscal Year 2016.
The Agriculture and Prepared Products Center of Excellence and Expertise (APP-CEE) collaborated with the Produce Working Group to discuss industry and valuation issues pertaining to consigned produce importations from across the nation. Attendees included brokers, attorneys, and importers as well as Trade Operations Division Director & Branch Chief, Office of Regulations & Rulings Attorneys and the Director of the Commercial Operations & Entry Division. The APP-CEE is committed to cultivating partnerships, across the trade, to ensure the economic vitality of the United States.
To find out more about CBP operations in Florida, visit @CBPFlorida on Twitter.