Office of Border Patrol

Definition/Scope: The Office of Border Patrol is the primary federal law enforcement organization responsible for preventing the entry of terrorists and terrorist weapons to the United States. Their traditional mission is to enforce immigration laws and to detect, interdict and apprehend those who attempt to illegally enter or smuggle people or contraband across U.S. borders between official ports of entry. The Border Patrol has a workforce of over 12,700 employees, of whom 11,120 are agents assigned to patrol the more than 6,000 miles of America’s land borders. The Border Patrol has an operating budget of $1.4 billion, which provides for operations coordinated by 21 sector offices.

Broader Terms:

Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
Department of Homeland Security

Narrower Terms:

border control point
border patrol
contraband
counterterrorism
customs administration
immigration
mobile patrol
Port Of Entry
terrorist
United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology

Related Terms:

Border Security and Facilitation
Office of Field Operations
Office of Intelligence and Operations Coordination
Office of International Trade
patrol aircraft
Patrol Dog
police patrol
security patrol