By MaryHelen Swanson

Heís been 17 years in the business and he doesnít know from day to day what he will encounter when he heads off to work.
Anthony Jackson of North Branch is employed at the St. Paul/Minneapolis International Airport with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

On Jan. 7, in Washington, D.C., he was awarded the Diana Dean and Joe Melendez-Perez Anti-Terrorism Award for his part in the detention and indictment of a suspect arriving on a flight from Amsterdam July 7, 2004. It was noted that the suspect ìmay have intended terrorist acts motivated by martyrdom.î

The experienced judgement of Jacksonís team at the airport resulted in a guilty verdict in early January and the suspect is now awaiting deportation.

The coordinated actions of the team prevented the suspect from continuing on a flight within the United States.
An in-depth examination revealed photographs, video disks and documents supporting a call to arms against the United States and Great Britain.

The team also found a document written in Arabic that, upon translation, appeared to be a suicide note.
The suspect was detained and indicted on July 28.

Jackson said he is very proud to have received the award, ìIt was an honor,î he said.

Jackson began his career in customs and border protection right out of college. He has a degree in criminology.

He worked three years on the southern U.S. border, 12 years in Winnipeg, Canada, and transferred to the Cities in 2003. In Canada, he said, they pre-cleared aircraft before they arrived in the U.S.

When a plane arrives from outside the U.S., it must clear Customs and Border Protection. The first people the passengers meet are inspectors who review documents, look at passports and determine if they are admissible to the U.S.

Jackson said he is not in danger and finds it to be an exciting job. But the mission of the department, he said, has changed since 9/11.

ì... 24 hours a day we are preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, while continuing to facilitate legitimate trade and travel,î are new words from Robert C. Bonner, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
People on the planes may be returning U.S. citizens, hold green cards, have working visas or just be visitors to the country. They are many different types of people coming into the country each day. ìThatís our job to determine what theyíre coming to the U.S. for,î he said.

There are 42,000 employees across the country in Customs and Border Protection.

ìThere is no such thing as a routine day, every day is different,î Jackson said. The one sure thing every day, he said, is that people are going to be applying for entry into the U.S.

The hope is, he said, that at the end of his shift the U.S. is a safe place, our borders are secure and our nation is protected.
Jacksonís 47-mile ride to work gives him time to prepare for the day as well as go over the dayís events on his way home. When he gets home, he said, he just wants to be a husband and father for his two children.

While the days are not predictable, the department notes that on a ìtypicalî day U.S. Customs and Border Protection processes more than 1.1 million passengers and pedestrians, including 724,192 aliens, 64,432 truck, rail and sea containers, 2,639 aircraft, 365,079 vehicles and 75,734 merchandise entries, and collects $74 million in revenue.

The department executes more than 135 arrests at ports of entry and 3,179 arrests between ports of entry.
It seizes an average of 2,313 pounds of narcotics in 131 narcotic seizures at ports of entry, and 3,634 pounds of narcotics in 24 seizures between ports of entry. It also seizes over $200,00 in currency, 193 firearms, $1.9 million in merchandise, 49 vehicles and more than 4,200 prohibited plant materials or animal products, including 189 significant agriculture pest interceptions at ports of entry.

The CBP refuses entry of 1,237 non-citizens and 54 criminal aliens attempting to enter the U.S.
It intercepts more than 210 fraudulent documents, 1 traveler for terrorism/national security concerns and one stowaway.
In that same day, CBP rescues more than 4 illegal crossers in dangerous conditions between ports of entry, deploys more than 1,200 canine teams, 13,400 vehicles, 85 aircraft, 75 watercraft, 130 horses on equestrian patrol and 400 all-terrain vehicles.
Finally, they use 265 remote video surveillance cameras and 11,938 underground sensors.

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