NTEU - National Treasury Employees Union
08/02/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/02/2024 15:13
Stopping Illegal Fentanyl Shipments Requires More Inspections, Staffing
WASHINGTON - Customs and Border Protection employees would intercept more international shipments of fentanyl if the loophole exempting certain packages from inspection was closed and the agency was able to hire the necessary law enforcement professionals to do the work.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents CBP employees at the nation's ports of entry, strongly endorses efforts to close the de minimis loophole that allows millions of international packages to evade inspection at the ports. But Congress must also provide sufficient funding to increase hiring and alleviate the staffing shortage that impacts port operations and overextends the workforce.
The de minimis loophole allows allegedly low-value packages to bypass full inspections, and drug traffickers and foreign companies have exploited it to avoid detection and tariffs. The result is illegal fentanyl being delivered directly to American addresses and unfair competition for American companies.
"Sending more international shipments through inspection is obviously key, but it won't matter much if there aren't enough trained CBP employees on duty to process them," said Doreen Greenwald, National President of the National Treasury Employees Union. "Frontline CBP employees are frustrated because they know for a fact that they could stop more dangerous substances from reaching the streets if they had the right tools for the job."
Fentanyl and fentanyl precursors manufactured in China is either funneled through Mexico in regular cargo or sent by mail and express consignment operators directly to addresses in the U.S., but CBP staffing has not kept pace with the increase in packages. CBP seizures of fentanyl increased by more than 200 percent over the last two fiscal years.
CBP officials in April testified that the agency processes about 4 million de minimis - or low-value - packages per day, up from 2.8 million at the same point last year. The agency needs 5,850 additional CBP Officers and 3,946 mission and operational support staff, according to its workload staffing model.
NTEU Chapter 155 President Heidi Tien, a CBP Officer in Ohio, joined Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and others at a press conference in Cleveland today to call for more inspections and more staffing.
"For federal law enforcement officers like me who work at the ports, it is incredibly frustrating to watch helplessly as millions of international packages that could contain fentanyl and other contraband evade inspection every day because of a loophole in the law," Tien said. "The CBP Officers I represent through NTEU strongly support the efforts by Sen. Brown and others to close the loophole and allow me and my colleagues to do our job to protect Americans from deadly substances and American companies from unfair competition."
NTEU represents employees in 35 federal agencies and offices.