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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 31, 1789; 236 years ago (1789-07-31) (1 Stat. 29) |
| Dissolved | March 1, 2003[1] |
| Superseding agencies | |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Parent agency | United States Department of the Treasury |
| Website | U.S. Customs Service at theWayback Machine (archived March 2, 2000) |
TheUnited States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of theU.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collectedimporttariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal investigations.
In March 2003, as a result of thehomeland security reorganization, the U.S. Customs Service was renamed the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection,[2] and most of its components were merged with the border elements of theImmigration and Naturalization Service, including the entireU.S. Border Patrol and former INS inspectors, together with border agriculture inspectors, to formU.S. Customs and Border Protection, a single, unified border agency for the U.S. The investigative office of U.S. Customs was split off and merged with the INS investigative office and the INS interior detention and removal office to formImmigration and Customs Enforcement, which, among other things, is responsible for interior immigration enforcement. The United States Customs Service had three major missions: collecting tariff revenue, protecting theU.S. economy fromsmuggling and illegal goods, and processing people and goods atports of entry.
Responding to the urgent need for revenue following theAmerican Revolutionary War, theFirst United States Congress passed and PresidentGeorge Washington signed theTariff Act of July 4, 1789, which authorized the collection of duties on imported goods. Four weeks later, on July 31, the fifth act of Congress established the United States Customs Service and its ports of entry.
As part of this new government agency, a new role was created for government officials which was known as "Customs Collector". In this role, one person would have responsibility to supervise the collection of custom duties in a particular city or region, such as theCollector of the Port of New York.
For over 100 years after it was founded, the U.S. Customs Service was the primary source of funds for the entire government, paying for the country's early growth and infrastructure. Purchases include theLouisiana andOregon territories;Florida andAlaska; funding theNational Road and theTranscontinental Railroad; building many of the nation'slighthouses; theU.S. Military andNaval academies, andWashington, D.C.
The U.S. Customs Service employed a number of federal law enforcement officers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Customs Special Agents investigated smuggling and other violations of customs, narcotics and revenue laws. Customs Inspectors were uniformed officers at airports, seaports and land border ports of entry who inspected people and vehicles entering the U.S. for contraband and dutiable merchandise. Customs Patrol Officers conducted uniformed and plainclothes patrol of the borders on land, sea and air to deter smuggling and apprehend smugglers.
In the 20th century, as international trade and travel increased dramatically, the Customs Service transitioned from an administrative bureau to a federal law enforcement agency. Inspectors still inspected goods and took customs declarations from travelers at ports of entry, but Customs Special Agents used modern police methods—often in concert with allied agencies, such as theFederal Bureau of Investigation,U.S. Postal Inspection Service,U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service andU.S. Border Patrol—to investigate cases often far from international airports, bridges and land crossings. Theoriginal World Trade Center complex,Building 6, housed offices of the U.S. Customs Service.[3][circular reference]
With the passage of theHomeland Security Act, the U.S. Customs Service passed from under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department to under the jurisdiction of theDepartment of Homeland Security.
On March 1, 2003, parts of the U.S. Customs Service combined with the Inspections Program of theImmigration and Naturalization Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine of the USDA and theBorder Patrol of theImmigration and Naturalization Service to formU.S. Customs and Border Protection. TheFederal Protective Service, along with the investigative arms of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, combined to formU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The flag of the Customs Service was designed in 1799 bySecretary of the TreasuryOliver Wolcott Jr. and consists of 16 vertical red and white stripes with a coat of arms depicted in blue on the whitecanton. The original design had the Customs Service seal that was an eagle with three arrows in his left talon, an olive branch in his right and surrounded by an arc of 13 stars. In 1951, this was changed to the eagle depicted on theGreat Seal of the United States.
Its actual name is the RevenueEnsign, as it was flown by ships of theRevenue Cutter Service, later theCoast Guard, and at customs houses.
In 1910, PresidentWilliam Howard Taft issued an order to add an emblem to the flag flown by ships from the one flown on land at customs houses. The version with the badge continues to be flown by Coast Guard vessels. Until 2003, the land version was flown at all United States ports of entry.[4] The renamed CBP Ensign is currently flown at CBP's headquarters in Washington, D.C., at its Field Offices, overseas duty locations including preclearance ports, and at all land, air, and sea ports of entry.
A modified version of the flag, with the seal replaced by the star pattern from the national flag (albeit in blue), is often circulated bysovereign citizens as a "peacetime flag".
Beginning in 1927, the Customs Service was headed by an appointed commissioner. Prior to 1927, customs collection was overseen by the director of the Treasury Department's customs division. Commissioners of Customs included:
| Commissioner | Term | Administration |
|---|---|---|
| Ernest W. Camp | 1927–1929 | Coolidge |
| Francis Xavier A. Eble | 1929–1933 | Hoover |
| James Moyle | 1933–1939 | Roosevelt |
| Basil Harris | 1939–1940 | Roosevelt |
| William Roy Johnson | 1940–1947 | Roosevelt, Truman |
| Frank Dow (acting) | 1947–1949 | Truman |
| Frank Dow | 1949–1953 | Truman |
| Ralph Kelly | 1954–1961 | Eisenhower |
| Philip Nichols Jr. | 1961–1964 | Kennedy, Johnson |
| Lester D. Johnson | 1965–1969 | Johnson |
| Myles Ambrose | 1969–1972 | Nixon |
| Vernon D. Acree | 1972–1977 | Nixon, Ford |
| Robert E. Chasen | 1977 – December 1980 | Carter |
| William T. Archey (acting) | December 1980 – October 1981 | Reagan |
| William von Raab | October 1981 – July 31, 1989 | Reagan, G. H. W. Bush |
| Michael H. Lane (acting) | August 1, 1989 – November 2, 1989 | G. H. W. Bush |
| Carol Boyd Hallett | November 3, 1989 – January 18, 1993 | G. H. W. Bush |
| Michael H. Lane (acting) | January 19, 1993 – May 12, 1993 | G. H. W. Bush, Clinton |
| George J. Weise | May 13, 1993 – April 18, 1997 | Clinton |
| Samuel H. Banks (acting) | April 19, 1997 – July 30, 1998 | Clinton |
| Raymond Kelly | July 31, 1998 – January 19, 2001 | Clinton |
| Charles W. Winwood (acting) | January 20, 2001 – September 9, 2001 | G. W. Bush |
| Robert C. Bonner | September 10, 2001 – March 1, 2003[5] | G. W. Bush |
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