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Strategic Objective
Goal 2.1: Secure U.S. Air, Land, and Sea Borders and Approaches
Strategic Objective
Overview
Flows of people and goods around the world have expanded dramatically in recent years. DHS employs a range of strategies to improve upon border security, as well as to exclude terrorist threats, drug traffickers, and other threats to national security, economic security, and public safety. DHS and our partners ensure transit via legal pathways; identify and remove people and goods attempting to travel illegally; and ensure the safety and integrity of these flows of people and goods by safeguarding the conveyances, nodes, and pathways that make up the travel and trade system. DHS relies on a combination of people, technology, assets (e.g., surface and aviation platforms), and infrastructure (e.g., roads, fences) across DHS operating components to enable situational awareness and secure the border. Given the inherently transnational nature of securing our borders, DHS also continues to build international partnerships to enhance our ability to identify threats or hazards before they emerge in the United States.
We will pursue the following strategies to secure U.S. air, land, and sea border and approaches:
- Prevent illegal import and entry by employing a layered, risk-based approach to screen, identify, and intercept threats at points of departure and at U.S. ports of entry. Using a variety of intelligence, automated tools, and information collected in advance of arrival for passengers and cargo at air, land, and seaports, DHS screens, identifies, and intercepts threats at points of departure before they reach our borders. In the approaches to the United States, DHS maintains domain awareness efforts to establish and maintain a common operating picture of people, vehicles, aircraft, and marine vessels approaching our borders, as well as interdiction capabilities to achieve a law enforcement resolution.
- Prevent illegal export and exit through a risk-based strategy to inspect people, cargo, and conveyances departing the United States through all airports, seaports, land border crossings, and international mail/courier facilities. Using this information, law enforcement organizations such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement will investigate illegal exports and exit.
Progress Update
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has highlighted this goal as a focus area for improvement.
Introduction
The Department has made progress in its ability to identify and apprehend individuals trying to illegally enter the United States, smuggle contraband across our borders, and identify weapons of mass destruction in the supply chain. Over the past several years, DHS has focused personnel, assets, technology, and infrastructure resources on the U.S. air, land, and sea borders and approaches, and made critical security improvements along the Northern and maritime borders.
Although progress is being made, DHS has identified a greater need to integrate and unify efforts across multiple components, and thus determined that this goal was a focus area for improvement.
Major Achievements
DHS experienced an increase in the volume of illicit people, including unaccompanied children and goods attempting to enter and exit the United States, but despite this increase DHS maintained steady interdiction rates in the land, air, and maritime domains. Concurrently, DHS made moderate progress disrupting or dismantling transnational criminal organizations operating on the nation’s borders. Biometric system improvements allowed for better detection of illicit entry attempts and improved awareness of those entering the country.
DHS also strengthened international partnerships and bolstered international capabilities, helping to combat threats as far from the border as possible. Examples include: expanded participation by foreign ports in the Container Security Initiative; and installation of maritime interdiction and prosecution support specialists in a transit zone nation as a step toward disrupting or dismantling transnational criminal organizations.
Major Challenges & Opportunities for Improvement
DHS cannot fully achieve its strategic outcomes in securing the border until its component operations are synchronized against a single set of prioritized threats. The implementation of the Southern Border and Approaches Campaign plan by the Secretary will reinforce the unity of effort required across DHS components to define overall success, coordinate law enforcement activities, and improve performance in securing the Nation.
Future Actions
DHS will implement a Southern Border and Approaches Campaign Strategy with the overarching goals to: enforce our immigration laws and interdict individuals seeking to illegally cross our land, sea, and air borders; degrade transnational criminal organizations; and decrease the terrorism threat to the Nation, all without impeding the flow of lawful trade, travel, and commerce. DHS has formed three Joint Task Forces (JTFs), cross-populated by DHS components and partners. JTF-West will focus on the southwest land and maritime borders and approaches, while JTF-East will focus on the southeast maritime border and approaches. JTF-Investigations will coordinate integrated joint investigations and operations across the entire Southern Border. Together, the three task forces will deploy DHS assets in a strategic and coordinated way in order to secure the Southern border and approaches of the United States across land, sea, and air domains.
