Spotlights

An unprecedented year. An unprecedented number of losses. An unprecedented amount of grief. This year’s Valor Memorial and Wreath Laying Ceremony at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 12, was an occasion to remember the fallen and share compassion with their loved ones. Thirty-seven CBP employees died in the line of duty during 2021 – the most in one year in the history of the agency and its legacy agencies – and the ceremony looked to recognize not only their ultimate sacrifices, but the sacrifices of the families, friends and colleagues the 37 left...

The candles of thousands of attendees lit up the National Mall in Washington for the 34th Annual Candlelight Vigil on May 13, one of the most moving ceremonies for fallen law enforcement officers during National Police Week. The vigil paid tribute to the 619 officers killed in the line of duty across the nation whose names were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The names of 32 law enforcement officers were from U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the agency lost an additional five non-law enforcement members in 2021. “They are individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice…

More than a hundred law enforcement officers and public safety officials, including dozens from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, gathered on Tuesday at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., for the Archdiocese’s 28th annual Blue Mass. The ceremony, which began outside the cathedral with a solemn, but stirring processional march led by federal, state and local honor guard pipe and drum units, was held to remember the fallen and give thanks to first responders who continue to serve. This year’s Blue Mass returned to its traditional time frame in early May, preceding Police Week...

“It's OK to say you don't know because you're not supposed to know everything. But you must be helpful, “said U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Mission Support Specialist Anna Cruz. Cruz is responsible for providing support, guidance, and expertise for the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), Investigative Operations Division, in Los Angeles Mission Support Specialists perform their work in a multitude of different settings supporting CBP’s officers and agents across the country and overseas. Cruz supports CBP’s special agents who are critical to ensuring CBP safeguards and...

A spirit of cooperation was the prevailing mood when members of the new 16th term Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, known as COAC, gathered last week in Washington, D.C., for their first public meeting with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus. The meeting, held on March 31, was also the first time that the trade advisory group had gathered in person since the start of the pandemic. For the past two years, the committee’s public meetings were held virtually. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to have this kind of gathering, a meeting ‘in real…

The seeds that blossomed into U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Special Agent David Chin’s decade-long career in law enforcement were planted long before he ever joined the agency. “I really have always wanted to go into law enforcement,” said Chin, who has been with the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Investigative Operations Directorate (IOD) for just over a year. But while Chin’s passion for law enforcement has deep roots, it is CBP’s emphasis on nurturing interests outside of work that he likes best. “I’m happy to be with CBP,” Chin said. “It’s very family friendly…

It was an exciting matchup watched ‘round the world, as the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals and battled to an exciting 23-20 finish, in favor of the Rams. While the Super Bowl kept the thousands of fans in the stadium … and nearly 100 million viewers globally … on the edge of their seats with game-changing dramas seemingly on every set of downs, the security around the game was far less dramatic. And that was just fine with the person in charge of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s efforts at the game. “Thank you to all of our partners for all of the cooperation and communication...

From social distancing to antigen to PPE, the pandemic has changed our everyday vocabulary. Add to the list another new household term: global supply chain. Whether it’s gloves stitched in Malaysia or tomatoes grown in Mexico, each year trillions of dollars of consumer products rely on the global supply chain - the worldwide system through which businesses produce and distribute goods and services — and which comprises hundreds of millions of workers who continue to be affected by the pandemic. But this global supply chain, along with the multitude of problems that may beset it and the human…

The path to becoming a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) attaché is rarely conventional. As CBP Attaché Paul Posner put it, “Being an attaché requires a specific combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities.” However, each attaché has a unique journey to success. Posner is the Regional Attaché for the Rome, Italy, Area of Responsibility. He serves as the senior diplomatic representative in the region and is responsible for promoting CBP programs, capabilities, and priorities in 11 countries in Southern Europe. Now, in his third year in the position, Posner would like potential...

The first thing to know about Michael Ferguson, an information specialist with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Information and Technology, is that he is a reader. If you ask him to describe the core ideas that inform his worldview, you’re likely to hear a favorite passage from something he’s read, recited by heart. About weathering the ups and downs of a 30-plus-year career, for example, Ferguson quotes from Spencer Johnson’s “Peaks and Valleys”: “You change your valley into a peak when you find and use the good that is hidden in the bad time.” Ferguson’s ability to turn low...