U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Port of El Paso will increase service levels by adopting the expanded hours of service at the city’s two Secure Electronic Network for Traveler Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) locations. CBP will provide SENTRI/DCL service at the Stanton crossing from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday and Sunday. The DCL at the Ysleta crossing will remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

    El Paso CBP has offered SENTRI/DCL service to the El Paso/ Juarez communities for the past nine years. The Stanton DCL opened in September 1999 and the Ysleta DCL in December 2005.

    “The extended level of service will make the DCL program even more attractive for trusted travelers looking for an expedited entry” said Gene Garza, acting director of field operations, in El Paso. “SENTRI participants should not have to wait in line at the international ports of entry. At this time, the program is underutilized and CBP would like to see more people enrolled in the program.”

    Currently, the Port of El Paso has approximately 23,000 people enrolled in the SENTRI program. During fiscal year 2007, there were 1,163,733 vehicles that made entry at the Stanton DCL and 219, 435 at the Ysleta DCL.

    The SENTRI program, commonly known as the Dedicated Commuter Lane or DCL provides an inspection alternative to participants who enroll in the trusted traveler program and successfully pass a background investigation.

    SENTRI members are entitled to benefits such as dedicated primary lanes, expedited routine CBP questioning, and priority secondary processing. In addition, the SENTRI card is approved for travel in the land and sea environments under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

    SENTRI participants are considered low risk by CBP but in order to maintain the integrity of the program, DCL members are still subject to a full inspection upon entry.

    The cost for enrollment in the program is $122.25 per person and is good for five years. Family units applying as a group can take advantage of the reduced rate structure. SENTRI members are required to pay additional toll fees in Mexico.

    SENTRI applications can be submitted on-line using the Global Enrollment System (GOES). If approved, the turn-around time for the entire application process is approximately two weeks.

    Further information on the SENTRI program can be found in the Customs and Border Protection website, including a link to the Global Online Enrollment Center.

    A SENTRI applicant must not have any penalties, violations, arrests, convictions or pending law enforcement investigations in their backgrounds. Any positive encounters with state, federal and local law enforcement, border agencies, military authorities, etc would render an applicant inadmissible to the SENTRI program. In the case of dismissed charges, certified court records will be required before membership consideration into the SENTRI program.

    Applicants will not qualify for participation in the SENTRI program if they:

    •Provide false or incomplete information on the application.

    •Have been convicted of any criminal offense or have pending criminal charges or outstanding warrants.

    •Have been found in violation of any customs, immigration or agriculture regulations or laws in any country.

    •Are subjects of an ongoing investigation by any federal, state or local law enforcement agency.

    •Are inadmissible to the United States under immigration regulation, including applicants with approved waivers of inadmissibility or parole documentation.

    •Cannot satisfy CBP of their low-risk status (i.e. CBP has intelligence that indicates that the applicant is not low risk; CBP cannot determine an applicant’s criminal, residence or employment history).

    •Are subject to National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS) or other special registration programs.

Artifacts returned

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Area Port Director of Dallas Ana Hinojosa recently turned over pre-Columbian artifacts to representatives of the Mexican government.

    The returned artifacts are considered priceless cultural treasures in Mexico and date between 1250 BC and 900 BC.

    Archaeologists from both the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History and the National Institute of Archeology and History of Mexico examined the artifacts in question and determined that the items are of Mexican origin. Archaeologists believed the artifacts are Pre-Columbian from the northern regions of Mexico and must have been part of funeral offerings. Pre-Columbian is a term used to refer to cultures of the New World in an era before Christopher Columbus. In practice, the term usually includes indigenous cultures as they continued to develop prior to being conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans.

    These particular items of Pre-Columbian artifacts have been in the custody of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for several years, some since 2001 and have been stored in a CBP vault in the Dallas port of entry. All of the items returned were seized from would be smugglers in a variety of enforcement actions conducted by CBP officers and/or ICE agents at various ports of entry in the states of Texas and New Mexico.

    Present to receive the artifacts on behalf of the Mexican government, were Adolfo Ayuso Audry, Consul of Mexico, Cultural Affairs Division, Consul General and Humberto Romero, Protection Affairs.

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