The Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) is the
tactical unit of the
United States Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...
.
In 2007, BORTAC was placed under the command of the newly formed Special Operations Group (SOG) together with the
Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR).
Mission
The mission of BORTAC is "to respond to terrorist threats of all types anywhere in the world in order to protect our nation's homeland."
In essence, BORTAC teams often conduct drug raids on high value targets, as well as sometimes being attached to
Border Patrol
A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties.
Name and uniform
In dif ...
or
Air and Marine Operations units to assist them in their duties. BORTAC does not only conduct operations on the
U.S. border. BORTAC teams are often used to provide a tactical federal law enforcement capability across the country, helping with security for events such as the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
, as well as being deployed to natural disaster areas to ensure that civil unrest does not break out. Additionally, BORTAC teams can be called upon to assist local law enforcement in high-profile events such as the
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
, where they were part of the 1,000 riot-trained federal
special agents sent in an attempt to end the rioting in the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
region; and the
2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape
The 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape was a jailbreak that took place on June 6, 2015, when two inmates, Richard Matt and David Sweat, were discovered missing during a 5:17 a.m. bed check at the maximum security Clinton Correctiona ...
, where a BORTAC team inserted by helicopter shot and killed escaped prisoner
Richard Matt
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
. BORTAC has been assigned to operate in
sanctuary cities
Sanctuary city (; ) refers to municipal jurisdictions, typically in North America, that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law. Leaders of sanctuary cities say they want to reduce fear of deport ...
to increase immigration enforcement.
Finally, BORTAC teams can sometimes be deployed overseas to assist and train countries in drug enforcement and border security techniques.
History
The unit was first formed in 1984 to deal with disturbances occurring within
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003.
Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...
detention facilities, but this mission is now handled by the
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement & Removal Operations (ERO), Special Response Teams (SRT). Since its inception BORTAC has steadily expanded its scope and mission capabilities, and is now a rapid response unit capable of executing both foreign and national level domestic operations. BORTAC members have operated in 28 countries around the world. Missions have included international training/advisory functions, counter terrorism operations, counter narcotics operations, high-risk warrant service, dignitary protection, interdiction & patrol operations, and tactical training to other U.S. agencies and military units.
Operations
![CBP Supports Manhunt (18655274503)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/CBP_Supports_Manhunt_%2818655274503%29.jpg)
In the 1980s, BORTAC worked with the
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...
conducting counter narcotics operations in South America during
Operation Snowcap
Operation Snowcap (1987–1995), launched in the spring of 1987, was a counter-narcotics operation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), BORTAC (U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit) and military/police forces in nine Latin America ...
.
In April 2000, the BORTAC conducted Operation Reunion, in which it executed a raid on a home in Miami, Florida, and safely returned Cuban refugee
Elian Gonzalez Elian or Elián (Spanish) or Élian (French) can refer to:
People
*Saint Elian (Syria) (died 284)
**Church of Saint Elian (Arabic: كنيسة مار اليان, Kaneesat Mar Elian) is a church in Homs, Syria
** Monastery of St. Elian a Syriac Catho ...
to his family in Cuba.
Following
9/11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, BORTAC personnel were sent to high-risk areas around the country to help secure against future attacks.
In 2002, BORTAC worked jointly with the
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
securing sports venues at the
Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
BORTAC personnel have assisted in natural disaster tactical relief operations by providing hurricane relief aid to
Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...
residents and law enforcement support to law enforcement agencies affected by
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
.
In December 2010, BORTAC Agent Brian Terry was killed while pursuing members of a gang that operated along the border of Mexico and Arizona.
In 2020, the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
deployed 100 agents including BORTAC to
sanctuary cities
Sanctuary city (; ) refers to municipal jurisdictions, typically in North America, that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law. Leaders of sanctuary cities say they want to reduce fear of deport ...
including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco for three months to assist
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
(ICE) agents and act as a
show of force
A show of force is a military operation intended to warn (such as a warning shot) or to intimidate an opponent by showcasing a capability or will to act if one is provoked. Shows of force may also be executed by police forces and other armed, non ...
.
ICE's acting director
Matthew Albence
Matthew Albence is a former American law enforcement officer and government official. He served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from July 5, 2019 to August 25, 2020 and between April 13 and May 27, 2019.
Education ...
said this was being done as sanctuary city policies cause an increase in crime. This was disputed by former
Customs and Border Protection commissioner
Gil Kerlikowske
Richard Gil Kerlikowske (born November 23, 1949) is a former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He assumed office on March 6, 2014 and retired January 20, 2017. He also served as the Director of the Office of National Drug Cont ...
.
In 2020, as part of the
Protecting American Communities Task Force
The DHS Protecting American Communities Task Force – often abbreviated PACT and commonly referred to as the Protecting American Communities Task Force – is a departmental task force of the Department of Homeland Security. PACT is mandated t ...
, BORTAC was deployed during the
George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon
Starting in May 2020, demonstrations over the police murder of George Floyd were held in the city of Portland, Oregon, concurrent with protests in other cities in the United States and around the world. By July 2020, many of the protests, which ...
, which sparked criticism from Governor
Kate Brown
Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...
and others as well as a lawsuit claiming the agency engaged in unlawful detainment, arbitrarily picking up people in Portland streets in unmarked vehicles who were too far away from federal buildings to be considered a credible threat.
In 2022, during the
Robb Elementary School shooting
On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student at the school, fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen other ...
in
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census. Uvalde is located in the Texas Hill Country, west of downtown San Antonio and east of the Mexico–United States bord ...
, the
Del Rio sector field office nearby deployed BORTAC to help assist the local authorities. Arriving an hour after the beginning of the shooting, they ended the massacre by breaching the classroom where the suspect was barricaded and neutralized him. One BORTAC officer was grazed in the head by a bullet during a shootout.
Organization
BORTAC headquarters is co-located with its training unit at
Biggs Army Airfield
Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs Air Force Base) is a United States Army military airbase located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas.
History Biggs Field/Biggs Army Airfield (1916–47)
On 15 June 1919, following an attack b ...
, within
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...
U.S. Army base in
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
. The BORTAC training unit is currently responsible for conducting all CBP tactical team training. In addition, the unit also provides specialist training to other Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. As part of a joint Department of State/ Department of Justice training program, BORTAC has also provided tactical team and counter narcotics training to several foreign governments police, paramilitary, tactical, drug, and specialist units, including the El Salvador National Police's Grupo de Respuesta Policial (GRP) tactical unit.
Uniforms
BORTAC Personnel wear a variety of uniforms while conducting operations. These include desert khaki or foliage colored two-piece flight suits, as well as combat uniforms in foliage, desert khaki, and Multicam. Because of the increasing prevalence of smugglers wearing camouflage, BORTAC personnel will often, when operating in conjunction with Border Patrol or
CBP Air and Marine Operations
Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is a federal law enforcement component within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). AMO's mission is to protect the American people and na ...
, wear similar uniforms to those of the unit with which they are operating. BORTAC Personnel also commonly wear plate carriers and, on occasion, ballistic helmets to protect them in the course of their operations. Most of their uniforms and gear are fire resistant, a result of their operations often taking place in conjunction with
CBP Air and Marine Operations
Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is a federal law enforcement component within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). AMO's mission is to protect the American people and na ...
.
See also
*
Border Patrol, Search, Trauma and Rescue
The Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) is a specialized unit of the United States Border Patrol trained in emergency search and rescue and medical response. It primarily assists injured or stranded migrants who enter the Unit ...
(BORSTAR)
*
Hostage Rescue Team
The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the elite tactical unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the ...
References
External links
* Fact Sheet (PDF)
Specwar.net article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bortac
Non-military counterterrorist organizations
United States Border Patrol
United States Department of Homeland Security
1984 establishments in the United States