Responding to the urgent need for revenue following the
American Revolutionary War, the
First United States Congress passed and President
George Washington signed the
Tariff Act of July 4, 1789, which authorized the collection of duties on imported goods. Four weeks later, on July 31, the fifth act of Congress established the United States Customs Service and its ports of entry. As part of this new government agency, a new role was created for government officials which was known as "Customs Collector". In this role, one person would have responsibility to supervise the collection of custom duties in a particular city or region, such as the
Collector of the Port of New York. For over 100 years after it was founded, the U.S. Customs Service was the primary source of funds for the entire government, paying for the country's early growth and infrastructure. Purchases include the
Louisiana and
Oregon territories;
Florida and
Alaska; funding the
National Road and the
Transcontinental Railroad; building many of the nation's
lighthouses; the
U.S. Military and
Naval academies, and
Washington, D.C. The U.S. Customs Service employed a number of federal law enforcement officers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Customs Special Agents investigated smuggling and other violations of customs, narcotics and revenue laws. Customs Inspectors were uniformed officers at airports, seaports and land border ports of entry who inspected people and vehicles entering the U.S. for contraband and dutiable merchandise. Customs Patrol Officers conducted uniformed and plainclothes patrol of the borders on land, sea and air to deter smuggling and apprehend smugglers. In the 20th century, as international trade and travel increased dramatically, the Customs Service transitioned from an administrative bureau to a federal law enforcement agency. Inspectors still inspected goods and took customs declarations from travelers at ports of entry, but Customs Special Agents used modern police methods—often in concert with allied agencies, such as the
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
U.S. Postal Inspection Service,
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and
U.S. Border Patrol—to investigate cases often far from international airports, bridges and land crossings. The
original World Trade Center complex,
Building 6, housed offices of the U.S. Customs Service. With the passage of the
Homeland Security Act, the U.S. Customs Service passed from under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department to under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Homeland Security. On March 1, 2003, parts of the U.S. Customs Service combined with the Inspections Program of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine of the USDA and the
Border Patrol of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service to form
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The
Federal Protective Service, along with the investigative arms of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, combined to form
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ==Flag==