Another Try at Centralized Border Patrolling Via Sharing Info

U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a new Tucson-based facility to help enhance information sharing across the nearly 60,000-person organization. The new Intelligence and Operations Coordination Center will serve as the “one-stop-shop” for operations coordination and information sharing across the operational entities within the agency, including Field Operations, Border Patrol and Air and Marine. A formal ribbon-cutting event with local officials was held to officially open this first-of-its-kind facility.

“CBP has evolved as an agency created in the wake of 9/11. The implementation of this coordination center enables CBP to transform into a more intelligence-driven organization and ensures the continuity and sustainability of national border security,” said CBP Acting Deputy Commissioner David V. Aguilar. “This team, working with our state and local partners, will play a vital role in protecting our country and our way of life.”

One of Customs and Border Protection’s primary goals is to become a more intelligence-driven organization and the IOCC will help provide more real-time insight to local decision-makers and frontline officers and agents. The IOCC establishes a centralized location for CBP field leadership to plan and coordinate joint operations and share intelligence with CBP operational components and law enforcement and intelligence partners.

The IOCC also has the capability to serve as a principal or supplemental incident management center during natural disasters or other critical incidents in support of our Federal, State, local, and tribal partners.

Aguilar was joined by U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and Governor Jan Brewer.

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