Courtesy Richard Pauza, LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Laredo Field Office advised that while tourist permits volumes at South Texas ports of entry were lower during the 2015 Holy Week period compared to the same time last year, volumes from the preceding two weeks show an overall increase in permits, reflecting the

  Courtesy Richard Pauza,    Laredo, TEXAS – U.S. Border Patrol Laredo Sector and the City of Laredo are taking action to deny transnational criminal organizations another route to ply their illicit trade into the U.S. by installing metal grates on storm drains within the Laredo area. On numerous occasions, undocumented aliens have become trapped

  Courtesy Richard Pauza,   Laredo, Texas –U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Laredo Port of Entry  seized a significant load of alleged heroin hidden in an unusual location, an Aztec calendar and a tortilla press. “Hiding hard narcotics within everyday Mexican curios reflects the desperate efforts smuggling organizations would go through to

Courtesy Richard Pauza,   LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Laredo Field Office is announcing that the agency is preparing to open available lanes along with encouraging use of trusted traveler programs and Ready Lanes to help facilitate the annual surge in northbound traffic anticipated at South Texas ports of entry over the

Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection, WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske announced the launch and full membership of the new Homeland Security Advisory Council’s CBP Integrity Advisory Panel during a badging ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building. The ceremony marked the official delegation of criminal investigative authority to personnel

  Courtesy Steve Helm, AUSTIN, TEXAS – Special Olympics Texas (SOTX) encourages all Texans to stop using the words “retard” and “retarded”.  Wednesday, March 4 is the seventh national Spread the Word to End the Word activation and awareness day, and all are invited to take the pledge against the ‘R-word’. Spread the Word to

Courtesy Richard Pauza, Laredo, Texas –U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Laredo Field Office this week held a briefing aimed at providing transportation industry representatives employing drivers with B1/B2 laser visas with a better understanding of cabotage to help ensure compliance with federal immigration laws and regulations. “We interact with our partners in the transportation industry

Courtesy Richard Pauza, Laredo, Texas – In the weeks leading to Valentine’s Day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s highly trained agriculture specialists stand poised to examine millions of flower stems to ensure that plant diseases and plant pests are detected and stopped from being introduced into the United States where they could cause harm. At

Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection,                                                                                   SOUTH TEXAS -The South Texas Campaign, an integrated enforcement effort that harnesses the joint capabilities of federal, state and local law enforcement to break down criminal networks and their ability to operate in the South Texas corridor, posted significant successes in the recently completed Fiscal Year 2014. Joint

Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection,     SOUTH TEXAS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at eight South Texas ports of entry upheld CBP’s border security mission while facilitating significant volumes of passenger, commercial traffic and trade imports during Fiscal Year 2014. Fiscal Year 2014 began October 1, 2013 and ended Sept.