California Border Protection Stations (CBPS) are 16 checkpoints maintained by the California Department of Food and Agriculture along the state's land borders with Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona. Officials staffing CBPS checkpoints inspect vehicle traffic entering California for the presence of pests; vehicles discovered to be carrying infested cargo are denied entry to the state.
The first highway agricultural pest inspection stations were established in 1921 on highways that cross the state borders with Nevada in the High Sierras near Reno after the destructive alfalfa weevil were detected in several campgrounds along the highways coming from Nevada. During the first year of operation, the inspection stations found live alfalfa weevils inside camping equipment. The following year, similar inspection stations were placed in operation on the three principal highways leading into Southern California from the eastern and southern United States to detect pests from cotton and citrus-growing southern states. By 1986, twenty-three border quarantine stations were being operated by the State Department of Agriculture which inspected a half-million cars that year. [1]
As of 2017, approximately 13 percent of United States agriculture production occurred in California, with agribusiness directly generating $47.1 billion of economic activity in the state. [2] The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is a state government agency with a primary mandate of protecting California "against invasion of exotic pests and diseases". [3]
California Border Protection Stations are 16 checkpoints placed at California's land borders with neighboring states and maintained by the CDFA for the purpose of monitoring vehicle traffic entering the state for the presence of cargo infested with pests. [4] [5] As of 2017, an average of 27 million vehicles were stopped and inspected annually by CBPS staff. [4]
Border Protection Stations were first established by California in 1920. [6] A 1968 plan to close the stations and replace them with six regional inspection hubs in the interior of the state was ultimately scuttled after opposition to the proposal was mounted by county agriculture officials. [7] [6] Beginning in 1970, inspectors were issued blue uniforms to, according to the Sacramento Bee , "help present a 'Welcome to California' image". [8]
According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, every dollar spent on maintaining the CBPSes saves $14 in economic losses that would be incurred by the introduction of pests. [4]
In the 1980 case of People v. Dickinson, in which a motorist was arrested after 200 pounds (91 kg) of marijuana was discovered in his vehicle at a California Border Protection Station, the California Court of Appeal ruled that "quarantine officers may stop motorists at the inspection stations and request to look into the trunk of the vehicle. This is in accord with United States v. Ortiz and United States v. Martinez-Fuerte . If the motorist voluntarily opens the trunk of the vehicle, the quarantine officer may look therein and, as here, remove any plant materials in plain view for further inspection". [9]
In the 1986 case Maine v. Taylor , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state can – through statute law – regulate interstate commerce in order to serve "a legitimate local purpose that could not adequately be served by available nondiscriminatory alternatives" that would otherwise comply with the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. [10]
Vehicles entering California from Oregon, [4] Nevada, [5] or Arizona, [7] are profiled at CBPS checkpoints to assess their potential risk. Passenger vehicles with California license plates, or those of bordering states, are considered low risk and are generally subject to only a cursory screening which consists of an inspector asking the vehicle's driver questions about the contents of their vehicle. [5] Other vehicles – particularly recreational vehicles, commercial trucks, or those carrying watercraft or livestock – are considered higher risk and may be subject to a visual inspection of cargo and contents. [5] During the 2016–2017 fiscal year, one CBPS in Yermo denied entry to California to 882 cross-border shipments. [5]
In addition, apiary cargo is logged by inspectors and the driver required to declare a final destination in California. [11] Logs of such shipments are then forwarded to the agricultural office of the destination county so that a more thorough inspection of the cargo can be made upon its arrival. [11]
The agricultural inspectors cannot make arrests if they stumble into illegal non-agricultural material, such as cocaine or illegal aliens, but can detain individuals until California Highway Patrol or Border Patrol officers arrive. [12]
US 101 south – Smith River 
US 199 south – Redwood (near O'Brien, Oregon)
I-5 south – Hornbrook 
US 97 south – Dorris 
SR 139 south – Tulelake 
US 395 south / SR 299 west – Alturas 
US 395 north – Long Valley (near Chilcoot)
I-80 west – Truckee 
US 50 west – Meyers US 395 south – Topaz 
US 6 west – Benton 
I-15 south – Mountain Pass 
I-40 west – Needles 
SR 62 west – Vidal 
I-10 west / US 95 north – Blythe 
I-8 west – Winterhaven In addition to state-maintained CBPS checkpoints, the United States Department of Homeland Security maintains 20 United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints at California's airports and seaports, and that portion of the Mexico–United States border contiguous with California's southern frontier. [14]
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) based in Riverdale, Maryland responsible for protecting animal health, animal welfare, and plant health. APHIS is the lead agency for collaboration with other agencies to protect U.S. agriculture from invasive pests and diseases. APHIS's PPQ is the National Plant Protection Organization for the U.S., and the agency's head of veterinary services/veterinary Deputy Administrator is the Chief Veterinary Officer of the United States.
The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and is responsible for securing the borders of the United States. According to its web site in 2022, its mission is to "Protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the nation’s economic prosperity."
The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal investigations.
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, as well as enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States. It has a workforce of more than 45,600 federal agents and officers. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service was the Australian government agency responsible for enforcing Australian quarantine laws, as part of the Department of Agriculture.
Yermo is an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. It is 13 miles (21 km) east of Barstow on Interstate 15, just south of the Calico Mountains. Its population was estimated at 1,750 in 2009.
United States border preclearance is the United States Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) practice of operating prescreening border control facilities at airports and other ports of departure located outside of the United States pursuant to agreements between the United States and host countries. Travelers are subject to immigration and customs inspections by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers before boarding their transportation onward to the United States. Preclearance applies to all passengers regardless of their nationality or purpose of travel. Upon arrival, precleared passengers arrive in the United States as domestic travelers, but may still be subject to re-inspection at the discretion of CBP. This process is intended to streamline border procedures, reduce congestion at American ports of entry, and facilitate travel into airports that otherwise lack immigration and customs processing facilities for commercial flights.
The Office of Field Operations (OFO) is a federal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) responsible for managing United States customs operations at 20 Field Operations offices, 328 ports of entry, and 16 pre-clearance stations in Canada, Ireland, the UAE, and the Caribbean. Headed by an Executive Assistant Commissioner, OFO directs the activities of more than 27,000 employees, including more than 22,000 CBP Officers and Agriculture Specialists. CBP Office of Field Operations is the largest component in CBP.
The Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance Program is a component of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ). The mission of the Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance Program is to detect and prevent the unlawful entry and distribution of prohibited and/or non-compliant products that may harbor exotic plant and animal pests, diseases or invasive species.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is a cabinet-level agency in the government of California. Established in 1919 by the California State Legislature and signed into law by Governor William Stephens, the Department of Food and Agriculture is responsible for ensuring the state's food safety, the protection of the state's agriculture from invasive species, and promoting the California agricultural industry.
The light brown apple moth is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae. The moth was confirmed to be present in mainland United States in 2007, principally along the West Coast. The State of California and the US Department of Agriculture quickly imposed agricultural quarantine measures and decided to use aerial spraying to try to eradicate the moth. This led to substantial public controversy and claims of adverse health effects. Aerial spraying was discontinued in 2008. Trapping, monitoring, and inspection efforts were reduced or eliminated in 2012 due to budget problems.
The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of federal law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.
Lobesia botrana, the European grapevine moth or European grape worm, is a moth of the family Tortricidae.
United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543 (1976), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court that allowed the United States Border Patrol to set up permanent or fixed checkpoints on public highways leading to or away from the Mexican border and that the checkpoints are not a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The United States Border Patrol operates 71 traffic checkpoints, including 33 permanent traffic checkpoints, near the Mexico–United States border. The stated primary purpose of these inspection stations is to deter illegal immigration and smuggling activities. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, they took on the additional role of terrorism deterrence. These checkpoints are located between 25 and 75 miles of the Mexico–United States border along major U.S. highways; near the southern border of the contiguous United States. Their situation at interior locations allow them to deter illegal activities that may have bypassed official border crossings along the frontier. The checkpoints are divided among nine Border Patrol sectors. There are a number of these checkpoints near the northern border of the contiguous U.S. as well, within 100 miles (160 km) of the Canada–U.S. border.
The San Ysidro Port of Entry is the largest land border crossing between San Ysidro and Tijuana, and the fourth-busiest land border crossing in the world with 70,000 northbound vehicles and 20,000 northbound pedestrians crossing each day, in addition to southbound traffic. It connects Mexican Federal Highway 1 on the Mexican side with Interstate 5 on the American side. The San Ysidro Port of Entry is one of three ports of entry in the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan region.
The Pacific Highway Border Crossing connects the city of Blaine, Washington and the city of Surrey, British Columbia on the Canada–US border. Interstate 5/Washington State Route 543 on the American side joins British Columbia Highway 15 on the Canadian side. Since the 1970s, commercial vehicles driving directly between Blaine and Surrey have been required to use this route, one of the five busiest commercial US-Canada border crossings.
The Apple Maggot Quarantine Area is a permanent quarantine area established by the U.S. state of Washington. The quarantine was authorized under Washington state law and the area's boundaries are periodically reset by the state's Department of Agriculture. The quarantine was declared in the early 1980s to arrest the spread of the apple maggot into a portion of Eastern Washington.