Customs and Border Protection is the government agency charged with overseeing all ports of entry in the United States. On a typical day, the last full fiscal year available (2024), CBP processed:
- 3.8 million de minimis (e.g., low dollar) shipments
- 1,150,387 passengers and pedestrians
- 88,582 truck, rail, and sea containers
- 270,800 incoming privately owned vehicles
- $9.2 billion worth of imported products
- 105,103 entries of merchandise
- $241 million in duties, taxes, and other fees
Underlying those numbers are countless stories. When the CBP held a media availability at Blaine, Washington’s commercial truck crossing in June, it was hard to know exactly what to expect. A taxidermied bald eagle certainly was not on the list.
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The eagle had been hunted and killed in one province of Canada, legally, agents said, and duly declared at the border as the owner tried to import it into America. There was no violation of law involved, and thus no fines or other penalties were assessed.
However, it is next to impossible for a private individual to import a bald eagle into the country, due to the Endangered Species Act and other legislation. The owner had been given the option of sending it back, but had elected to abandon it at the border instead. Thus, the dead, preserved adult eagle, mounted on a wild wooden base, was brought out to pose for the cameras and flashbulbs.
The official moral of the story was that people who want to bring something over the border that is legally questionable should call first, to save themselves a great deal of hassle if it is not allowed in the country.
