WEBVTT 00:00:03.746 --> 00:00:08.986 Narrator: In the aftermath of 9/11, the world continues to be a very dangerous place. 00:00:08.996 --> 00:00:11.883 The headlines are loud and clear. 00:00:11.893 --> 00:00:16.592 But behind the scenes, U.S. Customs and Border Protections National Targeting Center 00:00:16.602 --> 00:00:20.803 works quickly and quietly every day to identify people and products 00:00:20.813 --> 00:00:26.863 who pose potential threats to our Nation's security, and to stop them from entering the United States. 00:00:26.873 --> 00:00:30.693 Kemisha D. Sherrell: The National Targeting Center employs highly skilled targeting specialists 00:00:30.703 --> 00:00:34.718 using state-of-the-art technologies to identify high-risk people and cargo 00:00:34.728 --> 00:00:40.036 in the air, land and sea environments, both entering and leaving the United States. 00:00:40.046 --> 00:00:44.860 We carefully target and coordinate examination of the small percentage of shipments 00:00:44.870 --> 00:00:49.227 and travelers who may be connected to terrorism or other transnational crimes, 00:00:49.237 --> 00:00:54.199 such as narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, merchandise counterfeiting, and money laundering. 00:00:54.209 --> 00:00:59.064 Well, simply put, we connect the dots, analyzing all different kinds of information 00:00:59.074 --> 00:01:02.635 to identify threats not readily apparent. 00:01:02.645 --> 00:01:08.693 Narrator: The NTC team provides critical intelligence and information about individuals and cargo 00:01:08.703 --> 00:01:15.309 directly to frontline CBP officers and agents serving in both domestic and international duty locations. 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:21.140 The NTC is a prime example of how CBP continues to push our zone of security outward, 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:27.601 working closely with our international partners to disrupt threats as far from the homeland as possible. 00:01:27.611 --> 00:01:32.934 By identifying high-risk passengers and cargo well before they would cross our land borders, 00:01:32.944 --> 00:01:36.789 sail into our ports, or touch down on our tarmacs, 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:43.224 the NTC team is on duty to protect our people and economy 24/7. 00:01:43.234 --> 00:01:48.784 Having access to this information enables CBP to identify threats early in the transit process 00:01:48.794 --> 00:01:54.239 and to keep these individuals from boarding aircraft destined to the United States. 00:01:54.249 --> 00:01:56.281 The numbers are staggering. 00:01:56.291 --> 00:02:01.202 On a typical day, the NTC vets data on over 250,000 airline passengers, 00:02:01.212 --> 00:02:04.449 generating thousands of targeting hits every day - 00:02:04.459 --> 00:02:08.285 prompting meticulous research across agency and national boundaries - 00:02:08.295 --> 00:02:12.314 to determine whether these individuals are high-risk travelers. 00:02:12.324 --> 00:02:15.466 Thomas W. Sutton: We have the intelligence and resources at the NTC 00:02:15.476 --> 00:02:19.516 to discover information about the traveler before the boarding process in their country. 00:02:19.526 --> 00:02:24.421 This is one of many tools available to help protect the homeland from those who could do us harm. 00:02:24.431 --> 00:02:27.293 Listen: there's no margin for error. 00:02:27.303 --> 00:02:29.386 Terrorists only have to be right one time. 00:02:29.396 --> 00:02:31.615 We have to be right every time. 00:02:31.625 --> 00:02:36.793 Narrator: On the cargo side, the NTC targets and coordinates examinations of high-risk cargo, 00:02:36.803 --> 00:02:41.116 ensuring that high-risk shipments arriving to the United States by all modes of transportation - 00:02:41.126 --> 00:02:46.882 be it by air, by maritime vessel, by truck or rail over land - 00:02:46.892 --> 00:02:49.997 are safe and admissible prior to arrival. 00:02:50.007 --> 00:02:53.678 That includes targeting agricultural and biological shipments 00:02:53.688 --> 00:02:57.128 which have a nexus to terrorism and national security, 00:02:57.138 --> 00:03:00.894 then referring the suspect shipments to the receiving U.S. port of entry 00:03:00.904 --> 00:03:05.075 for a further examination before the cargo is permitted to enter the U.S. 00:03:05.085 --> 00:03:09.635 The NTC team also investigates entities involved in many criminal activities, 00:03:09.645 --> 00:03:12.802 including trade-based money laundering. 00:03:12.812 --> 00:03:15.851 NTC targeting capabilities are also used to 00:03:15.861 --> 00:03:20.778 intercept all types of illegal and dangerous narcotics, including synthetic drugs. 00:03:20.788 --> 00:03:24.570 The NTC team also helps protect intellectual property rights 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:29.475 by working with CBP's industry partners, other Federal agencies, and foreign governments 00:03:29.485 --> 00:03:32.678 to fight cross-border trade in bogus merchandise. 00:03:32.688 --> 00:03:36.418 The NTC has a robust tradition of collaboration with the field, 00:03:36.428 --> 00:03:39.303 the intelligence and law enforcement communities, 00:03:39.313 --> 00:03:44.450 and on-site liaisons with numerous agencies and select foreign countries. 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:50.859 This worldwide collaboration is key to enabling the NTC to meet its critical mission. 00:03:50.869 --> 00:03:54.756 But the NTC team doesn't stop only threats entering the country. 00:03:54.766 --> 00:03:59.015 It also identifies and intercepts high-risk people and cargo exiting the country - 00:03:59.025 --> 00:04:01.405 whether it's fugitives escaping justice, 00:04:01.415 --> 00:04:05.836 or even weapons and cash destined to cartels and other criminal organizations. 00:04:05.846 --> 00:04:08.861 Since its creation in the aftermath of 9/11, 00:04:08.871 --> 00:04:12.549 the NTC has remained vigilant in its efforts to prevent terrorism 00:04:12.559 --> 00:04:15.679 and criminal activity from hurting our country. 00:04:15.689 --> 00:04:21.720 For example, in 2010, the NTC team used law enforcement intelligence and technology tools 00:04:21.730 --> 00:04:27.600 to prevent Faisal Shazhad - the Times Square Bomber - from fleeing the country. 00:04:27.610 --> 00:04:33.200 The NTC identified his flight, and notified CBP officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport, 00:04:33.210 --> 00:04:35.870 who successfully intercepted Shazhad 00:04:35.880 --> 00:04:40.085 just moments before the international aircraft he was on was about to depart. 00:04:40.095 --> 00:04:46.335 In another operation, the NTC team provided CBP officers at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport 00:04:46.345 --> 00:04:50.487 with the information they needed to catch a suspected serial killer 00:04:50.497 --> 00:04:53.975 who had terrorized victims in Michigan and Virginia. 00:04:53.985 --> 00:04:59.479 He was apprehended moments before he could board an international flight bound for the Middle East. 00:04:59.489 --> 00:05:03.843 The men and women on the National Targeting Center team are unsung heroes, 00:05:03.853 --> 00:05:08.655 working tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of our homeland every day - 00:05:08.665 --> 00:05:14.634 in the process, earning CBP a well-deserved reputation as the model for other countries to emulate 00:05:14.644 --> 00:05:19.021 in their own efforts to combat terrorism and bring criminals to justice. 00:05:19.031 --> 00:05:28.333 [Music]