ATLANTA – With international air travel returning to normal, the enforcement duties of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers remains the same—protecting America. From January 1 to May 31, CBP officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) arrested 116 wanted criminals as they were attempting to enter the U.S. or departing the U.S on an international flight.
“CBP officers in Atlanta collaborate with other law enforcement agencies throughout the country and internationally to ensure criminals are not able to freely walk the streets,” said Henry DeBlock III, Port Director of Atlanta. “Our officers are highly trained and qualified to handle an array of dynamic and complex law enforcement duties to include effecting an arrest, processing seizures and identifying prohibited contraband from entering the U.S. Along with all these capabilities, our officers collaborate with local, state and federal agencies to accomplish our core mission as law enforcement officials—protect and safeguard the American public.”
Most recent arrests of travelers by CBP officers at ATL airport included, an individual wanted by law enforcement officials in White Plains, NY for Driving Under the Influence, a person wanted for larceny charges in McKinney, TX and a traveler arrested for Terrorist Threat in Union City, GA who was attempting to board a flight foreign to Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a complex mission at ports of entry with a broad law enforcement authority tied to screening all foreign visitors and American citizens entering or leaving the U.S. at more than 300 land, air and seaports.
CBP officers apprehend those with outstanding warrants as they try to enter or depart the U.S. and turned them over to local authorities for further prosecution. To date CBP officers have arrested those wanted on computer theft, fraud, weapon charges, aggravated assault, IRS charges, and money laundering.
Officers use the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database and cross reference active arrest warrants with the manifest of departing and arriving passengers. Once CBP officers confirm the exact match with the NCIC database, officers detain the passenger from boarding or after disembarking their flight and turn them over to local authorities.
The NCIC is a centralized automated database designed to share information, such as outstanding warrants, among law enforcement agencies. Based on information from NCIC, CBP officers have previously arrested individuals wanted for homicide, escape, money laundering, robbery, narcotics distribution, sexual child abuse, fraud, larceny, and military desertion.
On a typical day last year, CBP processed more than 650,000 arriving travelers at our nation’s airports, seaports and land border crossings, and officers and agents arrested an average of 25 wanted criminals every day. See what else CBP accomplished during a typical day in 2021.
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.