1 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:09,640 >> My name is Amy Cloud. I'm the CBP Attaché in Bogota, Colombia. 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,640 Bogota is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains, 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,510 and when I have visitors, I have the opportunity to take them to places like Monserrate, 4 00:00:17,510 --> 00:00:19,710 where they can see a beautiful view of the city, 5 00:00:19,710 --> 00:00:21,950 to the Plaza Bolivar, where we're standing right now, 6 00:00:21,950 --> 00:00:24,530 the historic heart of the city. 7 00:00:24,530 --> 00:00:26,620 And also to visit the various restaurants, 8 00:00:26,620 --> 00:00:30,370 museums and other cultural activities that the city has to offer. 9 00:00:31,410 --> 00:00:34,910 I arrived in Colombia as the very first CBP attaché here. 10 00:00:35,450 --> 00:00:38,290 It took a little while to get the office stood up 11 00:00:39,130 --> 00:00:42,380 and get an assistant hired, figure out the budget, 12 00:00:42,380 --> 00:00:44,890 figure out the processes within the embassy. 13 00:00:44,890 --> 00:00:47,190 I definitely had support from CBP Headquarters, 14 00:00:47,190 --> 00:00:50,430 but there's a lot that has to be done in-country in order 15 00:00:50,430 --> 00:00:52,540 to make an office run. 16 00:00:52,540 --> 00:00:54,970 From there, it was actually very easy meeting 17 00:00:54,970 --> 00:00:56,290 with Colombian Migration, 18 00:00:56,290 --> 00:00:58,580 Colombian Customs with the private sector, 19 00:00:58,580 --> 00:01:01,310 because CBP has so much to offer those entities 20 00:01:01,310 --> 00:01:03,010 in terms of information sharing. 21 00:01:03,990 --> 00:01:06,470 >> You know, we didn't have a CBP unit here, 22 00:01:06,470 --> 00:01:09,330 so when we got Amy Cloud who came down to be the attaché, 23 00:01:09,330 --> 00:01:11,930 I was really enthusiastic about having somebody to work 24 00:01:11,930 --> 00:01:14,410 on critical issues with the Colombian government, 25 00:01:14,410 --> 00:01:16,330 including special interest aliens, 26 00:01:16,330 --> 00:01:20,050 and moving forward on these high priority activities like pre-clearance. 27 00:01:20,050 --> 00:01:21,520 Global Entry is a passion of mine. 28 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,910 I really wanted to get Global Entry started here. 29 00:01:23,910 --> 00:01:27,140 And Amy has been able to socialize 30 00:01:27,140 --> 00:01:30,080 that more among the Colombians who might be eligible for it, 31 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,640 might be interested in it, because it's good for U.S. business, 32 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,739 it's actually good for our Colombian counterparts as well. 33 00:01:37,250 --> 00:01:40,220 >> A typical day as a CBP attaché can include meeting 34 00:01:40,220 --> 00:01:43,880 with my embassy counterparts on projects that we're working on together, 35 00:01:44,410 --> 00:01:46,940 contacting my Colombian government counterparts 36 00:01:46,940 --> 00:01:48,700 on programs of mutual interest, 37 00:01:48,700 --> 00:01:52,360 checking in to see where we are, answering phone calls from the public 38 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,180 or emails with inquiries about travel processes in the U.S., 39 00:01:56,180 --> 00:01:59,520 and of course being in touch with CBP Headquarters 40 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,920 to let them know the status of all our projects. 41 00:02:03,610 --> 00:02:06,070 >> Amy Cloud is providing us real-time information from Bogota 42 00:02:06,070 --> 00:02:07,350 that we wouldn't be able to get 43 00:02:07,350 --> 00:02:09,660 unless we traveled to Colombia ourselves. 44 00:02:09,660 --> 00:02:11,590 So every day, she's talking to our counterparts 45 00:02:11,590 --> 00:02:15,010 in the government, law enforcement, and feeding us that information 46 00:02:15,010 --> 00:02:16,650 so that we can better form our strategy 47 00:02:16,650 --> 00:02:20,000 for the placement of personnel for the Immigration Advisory Program, 48 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,700 pre-clearance and other CBP mission programs. 49 00:02:24,660 --> 00:02:27,240 >> CBP is interested in working with the Colombian government 50 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,790 in two main ways, here in Bogota at the airport. 51 00:02:30,790 --> 00:02:33,150 One is through pre-clearance expansion; 52 00:02:33,150 --> 00:02:37,200 Bogota was selected as a finalist for pre-clearance. 53 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:38,680 And so we are meeting regularly 54 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,140 with the Colombian government and airport authorities 55 00:02:41,140 --> 00:02:43,350 in order to implement that program. 56 00:02:43,350 --> 00:02:46,040 Additionally, ever since we signed a passenger information 57 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:47,440 sharing agreement, 58 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,550 CBP has been sending experts who can help work 59 00:02:50,550 --> 00:02:52,970 with the Colombian agencies at the airport 60 00:02:52,970 --> 00:02:55,330 to improve their targeting practices. 61 00:02:55,330 --> 00:02:59,000 This is done through training, sharing of best practices, 62 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:00,700 and on-the-job observation. 63 00:03:01,630 --> 00:03:05,520 >> The importance of having this relation with Amy and CBP 64 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,350 is that we have had the opportunity 65 00:03:07,350 --> 00:03:10,300 to get access to the National Targeting Center, 66 00:03:10,300 --> 00:03:14,270 and to other officers of the U.S. government 67 00:03:14,270 --> 00:03:17,520 that will help us construct and build a better relation, 68 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:22,060 not only with CBP, but internally with our Customs process. 69 00:03:23,330 --> 00:03:25,900 >> You know, one of the things that I most admire about Amy is, 70 00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:29,550 she's really a can-do person. She figures out ways to get things done. 71 00:03:29,550 --> 00:03:31,830 The critical component in that is being able to plug 72 00:03:31,830 --> 00:03:34,290 in directly to the right parts of DHS, 73 00:03:34,290 --> 00:03:37,260 which is not immediately transparent from down here. 74 00:03:37,260 --> 00:03:40,230 And so being able to navigate the interagency up 75 00:03:40,230 --> 00:03:42,290 there has been critically important. 76 00:03:42,290 --> 00:03:46,080 I am so grateful for all DHS does for us down here; not only CBP, 77 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,190 but HSI -- critical components of the country team. 78 00:03:49,190 --> 00:03:51,590 We're just so grateful that they're here with us here.