Proceedings Of The Marine

SPR 2014

Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.

Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/284910

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 10 of 85

8 Proceedings Spring 2014 www.uscg.mil/proceedings how the Coast Guard "pushes the border out" to prevent contraband from entering the country. In its role enforcing these and similar statutes, the Coast Guard is empowered to arrest individuals, seize the contraband and the convey- ance, and refer the case to federal, state, or local authorities for prosecution. In addition to its drug interdiction mission, the Coast Guard also enforces immigration laws at sea. Customary and con- ventional international law gives coastal states sovereignty in their territorial seas and sovereign rights in their contigu- ous zones. This includes the authority to restrict access to their borders and to regulate admission of aliens by estab- lishing circumstances and conditions over who enters the nation. The United States Constitution also grants Congress authority "to establish a uniform rule of naturalization," and Congress has exercised this authority in the Immigra- tion and Nationality Act. The act and its implementing regu- lations provide that aliens may lawfully enter the United States only after having passed through a U.S. immigration inspection station, at which their compliance with various U.S. entry or admission requirements has been verified. Several other executive orders guide the Coast Guard in its enforcement of this statutory and regulatory regime, as it exercises its border control and law enforcement functions in the interest of national security. illegal drugs into the country. Various domestic laws and regulations prohibit the transportation, possession, and dis- tribution of controlled substances. Additionally, there are treaties and other sources of international law that support this domestic enforcement regime. 18 For example, one of the substantive laws the Coast Guard routinely enforces, 21 U.S.C.§955, prohibits possessing or transporting controlled substances on vessels arriving in or departing from the United States. This prohibition is the preferred federal statute for cases involving possession of personal use amounts of controlled substances where a ves- sel border crossing has occurred and is an excellent example of a sovereign state attempting to prevent illegal goods from entering or leaving its territory. Another law that the Coast Guard regularly enforces is the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, 46 U.S.C.§§70501- 70507. This statute prohibits the illegal transportation of controlled substances by vessel and applies within the U.S. contiguous zone, territorial sea, and internal waters to for- eign and U.S. vessels and seaward of the contiguous zone to vessels otherwise subject the jurisdiction of the United States. The act is the appropriate statute for cases involv- ing signifcant amounts of controlled substances, implying intent to manufacture or distribute, and is an example of USCG Threat Protection Partners In border security terminology, threats can generally be classifed as either threat actors or illegal goods. A threat actor is "… any person who intends to harm the United States or whose presence may lead to harmful conse- quences," while illegal goods are "certain weapons, illegal drugs, and counterfeit goods … [or] other goods [which] are generally legal, but become illegitimate because they are smuggled to avoid the enforcement of specifc laws, taxes, or regulations." 1 The United States relies on the U.S. Department of Home- land Security (DHS) to "prevent the illegal fow of people and goods across U.S. air, land, and sea borders while expediting the safe fow of lawful travel and commerce; ensure security and resilience of global movement systems; [and] disrupt and dismantle transnational organizations that engage in smuggling and trafcking across the U.S. border." 2 The basic organizational responsibilities are outlined below: ➤ Customs and Border Protection provides the front line responders for immigration and customs violations and serves as the DHS law enforcement arm. ➤ Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as the investigative branch. ➤ The Transportation Security Administration secures our transportation systems. Endnotes: 1. Rosenblum, M., et al. (2013) Border Security: Understanding Threats at U.S. Borders, Congress Research Serv., R 42969. 2. Department of Homeland Security. Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report: A strategic framework for a secure homeland; 2010. See www.dhs.gov/ xlibrary/assets/qhsr_report.pdf. Spring2014_FINAL.indd 8 3/21/14 11:13 AM

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Proceedings Of The Marine - SPR 2014