	Overview of Key Concepts

Improving border and transportation security (BTS) are essential strategies for improving andmaintaining homeland security. Border security entails regulating the flow of traffic across thenation's borders so that dangerous and unwanted goods and people are detected and denied entry. This requires a sophisticated border management system that balances the need for securing thenation's borders with facilitating the essential free flow of legitimate commerce, citizens, andauthorized visitors. Transportation security involves securing the flow of people and goods alongthe nation's highways, railways, airways, and waterways. (1) While in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 efforts primarilyconcentrated on an expanded federal role in aviation security (in particular on the heightenedscreening of passengers and baggage), increasingly attention is being turned towards other modesof transportation. It provides a brief description ofselected agencies and their border and transportation security responsibilities. Finally, this report presents some specific border and transportation securityissues that may be of interest to the 109th Congress. (3) 

	DHS Border and Transportation Security Responsibilities

DHS is the primary agency responsible for the security of the borders. (4) The border and transportation security responsibilities of DHS areprimarily located within the BTS Directorate. The Coast Guard is a stand alone agency within DHS,but has significant border security responsibilities. Within the BTS Directorate, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has responsibility forsecurity at and between ports-of-entry along the border. As such, it is responsible for border and transportation security as it applies to U.S. ports, coastal andinland waterways, and territorial waters. (6) DOS's Bureau of Consular Affairs is responsible for issuing visas. DHS's Citizenship andImmigration Services Bureau (USCIS) is charged with approving immigrant petitions. In addition,DOJ's Executive Office for immigration Review (EOIR) plays a significant policy role through itsadjudicatory decisions on specific immigration cases. Although the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau (USCIS) and theDepartment of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) are clearly the leadagencies in asylum policy, the first contacts many asylum seekers have with the U.S. governmentare with Border and Transportation Security (BTS) officials. Non-Aviation Transportation Security. These recommendations include (but are not limited to the following): 
the United States should combine terrorist travel intelligence, operations, andlaw enforcement in a strategy to intercept terrorists, find terrorist travel facilitators and constrainterrorist mobility;
the U.S. border security system should be integrated into a larger network ofscreening points that include our transportation system and access to vital facilities, such as nuclearreactors;
the President should direct the Department of Homeland Security to lead theeffort to design a comprehensive screening system, addressing common problems and settingcommon standards with systematic goals in mind (see the summary of HSPD-11below);
the Department of Homeland Security, properly supported by Congress, shouldcomplete, as quickly as possible, a biometric entry-exit system, including a single system forspeeding qualified travelers, [i]t should be integrated with the system that provides benefits toforeigners seeking to stay in the United States;
the U.S. government ... should do more to exchange terrorist information withtrusted allies, and raise U.S. and global border security standards for travel and border crossing overthe medium and long term through extensive international cooperation;
the federal government should set standards for the issuance of birthcertificates and sources of identification, such as drivers licenses;
the U.S. government should identify and evaluate the transportation assets thatneed to be protected, set risk-based priorities for defending them, select the most practical andcost-effective ways of doing so, and then develop a plan, budget, and funding to implement theeffort, [t]he plan should assign roles and missions to relevant authorities (federal, state, regional, andlocal) and to private stakeholders;
improved use of "no-fly" and "automatic selectee" lists should not be delayedwhile the argument about a successor to CAPPS continues, [t]his screening function should beperformed by TSA, and it should utilize the larger set of watchlists maintained by the federalgovernment, [a]ir carriers should be required to supply the information needed to test and implementthis new system;
the TSA and the Congress must give priority attention to improving the abilityof screening checkpoints to detect explosives on passengers, ... each individual selected for specialscreening should be screened for explosives; and
the TSA should conduct a human factor study ... to understand problems inscreener performance and set attainable objectives for individual screeners and for the checkpointswhere screening takes place.
Enhancing border and transportation security (BTS) are essential strategies for improving andmaintaining homeland security. Border security entails regulating the flow of traffic across thenation's borders so that dangerous and unwanted goods and people are detected and denied entry.This requires a sophisticated border management system that balances the need for securing thenation's borders with facilitating the essential free flow of legitimate commerce, citizens, andauthorized visitors. Transportation security involves securing the flow of people and goods alongthe nation's highways, railways, airways, and waterways. (For more information on the complexityof the BTS challenge, see CRS Report RL32839 , Border and Transportation Security: TheComplexity of the Challenge , by [author name scrubbed].) While in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 effortsprimarily concentrated on an expanded federal role in aviation security (in particular on theheightened screening of passengers and baggage), increasingly attention is being turned towardsother modes of transportation.
The effective implementation of border and transportation security measures requires theparticipation of numerous agencies. Federal responsibility for border and transportation securityefforts is primarily contained within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS's Borderand Transportation Security Directorate houses: the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection(CBP), which has responsibility for security at and between ports-of-entry along the border; theBureau of Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), which has responsibility for investigatingand enforcing the nation's customs and immigration laws; and the Transportation SecurityAdministration (TSA), which is responsible for the security of the nation's transportation systems. The U.S. Coast Guard is a stand-alone agency within DHS, and has primary responsibility for themaritime components of homeland security (U.S. ports, coastal and inland waterways, and territorialwaters). DHS's Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau (USCIS) is charged with approvingimmigrant petitions. In addition, the Department of State's (DOS) Bureau of Consular Affairs isresponsible for issuing visas; and the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Executive Office forImmigration Review (EOIR) has a significant policy role through its adjudicatory decisions onspecific immigration cases. For more information on border agencies, see CRS Report RS21899 , Border Security: Key Agencies and Their Missions , by [author name scrubbed]. For more information oncurrent BTS programs and policies, see CRS Report RL32840 , Border and Transportation Security:Selected Programs and Policies , by [author name scrubbed] et al.
This report provides a summary of the roles and responsibilities of various federal agenciesengaged in border and transportation security activities; describes selected concepts and termsprominent in border and transportation security debates; and discusses selected issues that might beof interest to the 109th Congress. For more information on BTS policy options, see CRS Report RL32841 , Border and Transportation Security: Possible New Directions and Policy Options , byWilliam Robinson et al. This report will be updated as significant developments occur.
Key Policy Staff: Border and Transportation Security