IJ.org by Andrew Wimer 7/30/2020
New report: CBP, Other DHS Agencies Seized $500 Million From Air Travelers Over Missing Paperwork
CBP and other Homeland Security agencies use civil forfeiture to take and keep currency from travelers whose only crime is ignorance of reporting requirements
As though air travel in the age of COVID-19 were not stressful enough, Americans have another potential risk factor to worry about: cash seizures at airports. Under civil forfeiture laws, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other Homeland Security agencies routinely seize cash and other currency from travelers at airports nationwide. Most often, their only crime is a failure to file required paperwork. So finds a new Institute for Justice study titled “Jetway Robbery? Homeland Security and Cash Seizures at Airports.â€
This study is the first to examine airport currency seizures by CBP, ICE and other DHS agencies. It is also the first to use data from the Treasury Department’s forfeiture database, the Seized Assets and Case Tracking System or SEACATS, which IJ obtained only after a multiyear legal battle with CBP. Covering 2000 through 2016, the study quantifies just how often DHS agencies have seized currency at airports—and just how much currency has flowed into the federal government’s coffers as a result.
“Jetway Robbery?†finds airport currency seizures by CBP and other DHS agencies are a large and growing phenomenon. Over 17 years, DHS agencies seized more than $2 billion across more than 30,000 seizures. The amount seized year to year also trended upward over that period.
More:
https://ij.org/press-release/new-report-cbp-other-dhs-agencies-seized-500-million-from-air-travelers-over-missing-paperwork/
