U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) work to disrupt the illegal flow of fentanyl into the country by:
- Investigating cross-border criminal activity. This prevents illegal shipments of drug precursor chemicals from reaching U.S. borders.
- Identifying and seizing illegal flows at U.S. borders.
- Attacking the enablers of fentanyl trafficking. This includes financial crimes, cybercrime, and weapons smuggling.
This Key Homeland Security Metric (KHSM) summarizes DHS seizures from fentanyl disruption operations. This includes illegal fentanyl, drug producing devices or pill presses, and currency and personal property belonging to criminal actors.
Data Source
All KHSM data are from the OHSS Statistical System of Record (SSOR). The SSOR is the authoritative source of DHS statistical data and undergoes rigorous validation. We construct SSOR data for fentanyl disruption seizures from CBP and ICE HSI administrative data stored in the Seized Assets and Case Tracking System (SEACATS). CBP and ICE law enforcement officers use SEACATS to record, track, and update data on seizures they perform.
Data Lineage
CBP extracts SEACATS data from their BorderStat system. ICE queries SEACATS data using their Incident Case Management (ICM) System. Both agencies provide us with us with a comma-separated values (CSV) file. We use our data cleansing methodology to create a combined dataset. This includes the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FPF) unique identifier, date, region, unit of measure, and source file for the row of data. We calculate the KHSM from the combined dataset.
Units of Measure and Descriptive Variables
Unit of Measure
Seizure
A seizure is the confiscation of goods due to a potential violation of law. The seizure unit of measure is total amount of goods seized.
- Fentanyl: Pounds (lbs.) of fentanyl drugs seized by CBP and ICE.
- Pill Presses: Counts of drug producing devices seized by CBP and ICE. This includes the entire press, die, and other parts.
- U.S. Currency: Dollar amount of U.S. cash and currency seized by ICE during fentanyl disruption operations; and
- Personal Property: Dollar value of personal property other than U.S. currency seized by ICE during fentanyl disruption operations.
Descriptive Variables
Region
The geographic area the seizure occurred in. CBP and ICE define regions as operational areas of responsibility. These differ in some locations.
- Southwest: California, Nevada, Utah (ICE), Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma
- North: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah (CBP), Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia (CBP), Virginia (CBP), Maryland (CBP), District of Columbia (CBP), Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine
- Southeast: Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia (ICE), Virginia (ICE), Maryland (ICE), District of Columbia (ICE), Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida
- OCONUS: Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and any other U.S. territories
Data Processing
CBP and ICE collaborate on many fentanyl disruption seizures. Both report data and statistics on their involvement in seizures. This KHSM is the combined total of seizures for all of DHS. We use unique identifiers to identify joint seizures, deduplicate data, and deconflict discrepancies. We use reference data to standardize formats.
Data Cleaning
We count seizures with a Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FPF) unique identifier in this KHSM. If the data are missing the FPF unique identifier, we work with CBP and ICE to correct the source data. If the source data can’t be corrected, we exclude it from the KHSM.
We map the AOR of the Sector, Field Office, and SAC Office as the regional boundaries defined for the KHSM to create the Region variable.
- The CBP data include either the Sector or Field Office area of responsibility (AOR), where the seizure took place. This depends on whether the seizure was performed by the United States Border Patrol (USBP) or the Office of Field Operations (OFO).
- The ICE data include the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Office AOR, where the seizure took place.
Integration
We use the FPF unique identifier to identify which seizures were joint operations present in both the CBP and ICE data. For all joint seizures, we compare the units of measure in the CBP and ICE data.
- If the units of measure match exactly, we count the seizure in the KHSM once. We use the more recent data extract from SEACATS for the seizure date and location.
- If the units of measure from the CBP and ICE data do not match exactly, we use the more recent data extract from SEACATS. We then share the FPF unique identifiers with CBP and ICE for reconciliation.
Imputation
We don’t substitute any missing data for the fentanyl disruption seizures KHSM.
Limitations
Undercount and Overcount
We don’t count data with a missing Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FPF) unique identifier in this KHSM. This undercount is less than 2 percent of total seizures. Part of this 2 percent is seizures made outside of the United States and its territories. These seizures don’t have FPF unique identifiers, so we don’t count them.
CBP and ICE each extract seizure data for their agency from SEACATS. Undercount can occur if a seizure is not captured in the data provided by either agency due to a gap in their system query. This potential undercount is currently unknown.
Overcount can occur if a seizure is counted more than once. Data de-duplication during Integration eliminates potential overcounting of a seizure with the same FPF number. About 40 percent of fentanyl (lbs.) seized are joint seizures that we de-duplicate and report only once in the KHSM.
Accuracy
CBP and ICE extract data are extracted from live systems that are subject to change.
Statistical information is subject to change due to:
- Corrections
- Systems changes
- Changes in data definitions
- Additional information being provided
- Seizures pending final review
For example, CBP or ICE may update seizure information collected at the time of the seizure following laboratory testing.
Less than 1 percent of total seizures contain discrepancies between CBP and ICE data. When we identify discrepancies, we use the more recent extract from SEACATS. We then share the discrepancies with both CBP and ICE for reconciliation.
We round each row of data to the nearest 10 to protect privacy and security. As a result, the actual totals and the totals of the rounded rows can vary.
Timeliness
CBP and ICE extract data from the source system no more than 30 days before the release of the report. We release data on a quarterly basis within 60 days of the end of the quarter.
Linkage Error
We use the FPF unique identifier to deterministically link records. There is no known linkage error.
Reporting Period
Data reported covers Fiscal Years 2023-2024.
Changes from Previous Releases
The current release is the first iteration of the Fentanyl Disruption Seizures KHSM. As such, there are no changes to note from previous releases.
