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Buy through us
Explore buy through us
Category management
Government property for sale or lease
Personal property (tangible goods)
Real property (real estate and buildings) for public use
Real property sales
Vehicle sales
Products and services
Human capital
Industrial products and services
Office management
Professional services
Security and protection
Transportation and logistics services
Purchasing programs
Assisted acquisition
Commercial platforms
Federal strategic sourcing initiative
Fleet management
HCaTS and HCaTS SB
OASIS and OASIS SB
Requisition programs
State and local programs
Emergency acquisition basic ordering agreements
Shared services
Payroll services
Support services for CABs
Sell to government
Explore sell to government
Step 1: Learn about government contracting
Ways you can sell to government
How to access contract opportunities
Conduct market research
Step 2: Compete for a contract
Register your business
Certify as a small business
Become a schedule holder
Market your business
Research active solicitations
Respond to a solicitation
What to expect during the award process
Step 3: Manage your contract
Comply with contractual requirements
Handle contract modifications
Monitor past performance evaluations
Real estate
Explore real estate
Design and construction
3D-4D building information modeling
Computer-aided design standards
Engineering
Project management information system
Prospectus thresholds
Facilities management
Security
Tenant services
Water quality management
Our properties
Owned and leased properties
Regional buildings
Renting property
Real estate services
Leasing resources
Real property disposal
Reimbursable services (RWA)
For businesses seeking opportunities
For workers in federal buildings
Voice of the customer
Workplace optimization
Commercial coworking
Federal coworking
Space Match
Explore historic buildings
Policy and regulations
Explore policy and regulations
Acquisition management policy
Aviation management policy
Information technology policy
Real property management policy
Relocation management policy
Travel management policy
Vehicle management policy
Regulations
Federal acquisition regulations
Federal management regulations
Federal travel regulations
Small business
Explore small business
Small business goals
Register your business
Explore business models
Research the federal market
Subcontracting and other partnerships
Forecast of contracting opportunities
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Explore technology
Build websites and digital services
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FedRAMP
Federal identity, credentials, and access management
Robotic process automation community
Technology modernization fund
Training
About us
Explore about us
Background and history
Overview
Mission and strategic goals
Role in presidential transitions
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Get an internship
Launch your career
Elevate your professional career
Discover special hiring paths
Resources and related links
Events and training
Events, training, and request a speaker
Our training programs
Newsroom
Agency blog
Congressional testimony
GSA does that podcast
News releases
Speeches
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Leadership directory
Federal Acquisition Service
Public Buildings Service
Staff offices
Regions
Region 1 | New England
Region 2 | Northeast and Caribbean
Region 3 | Mid-Atlantic
Region 4 | Southeast Sunbelt
Region 5 | Great Lakes
Region 6 | Heartland
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  1. Home
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  6. Historic U.S. border inspection stations
  7. Historic Context
  8. Legislative and Research History

Legislative and Research History

Keyes-Elliott Act
The need to improve the physical circumstances under which customs and immigration laws were enforced along the border coincided with growing concern over the state of U.S. government facilities in general. 

On May 25, 1926, Congress passed the Keyes-Elliot, or Public Buildings Act. The act authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare a “survey and investigations of public building conditions.”  

The results of this survey, prepared in 1927, became the basis for expenditures of over $700 million during the ensuing decade for construction of post offices, courthouses, marine hospitals, custom houses, and “other public buildings of the classes under the control of the Treasury Department.” The Treasury Department’s Office of the Supervising Architect was made responsible for preparation of designs, drawings, estimates, and specifications.

Included in this building program were 47 border inspection stations (the number was apparently revised to 48 during the course of construction). The locations and programmatic requirements for these stations were based upon recommendations presented in a written report from 1928 by H. A. Benner of the Bureau of Customs and J. L. Hughes of the Bureau of Immigration.

The Benner and Hughes Report
In a Congressional report dated March 13, 1928, H. A. Benner of the Bureau of Customs and J. L. Hughes of the Bureau of Immigration reported why the then-present quarters and facilities were inadequate to meet that need and recommended that the government construct purpose-built border inspection stations for border highways at 48 locations.  The report, based on interviews with customs and immigration agents, detailed a wealth of frustrating and sometimes embarrassing experiences while the agents tried to do their jobs. This ranged from working out of a tent to living with their families in freight cars. Drivers refused to go to out-of-the-way customs and immigration stations, resulting in a drop in government revenue.  When inspections were successful, at one site locals would sometimes gather to watch the “entertainment” as travelers opened their trunks and their luggage for inspection. 

 

Before There Were Dedicated Border Inspection Stations

  • Railroad cars as homes and offices: At particularly remote locations, customs and immigration laws might be enforced out of, and the inspectors and their families might live in, remodeled railroad freight cars.
  • Lost revenue due to weather: Often, the possessions of individuals needed to be inspected out in the open, exposed to natural elements.
  • One observation, according to Benner and Hughes, on a drizzly October night in Rouses Point, New York, “Well dressed and dignified people were moving about in the rain opening luggage compartments and baggage containers and exposing the contents for official inspection – and to the elements. Naturally under such circumstances, to avoid serious damage to the personal property of the tourists, the examination must be hurried, with consequent danger to the revenue. A few village idlers stood by.”
  • Inspections as local entertainment. Benner and Hughes continued: “It is said that the group of spectators, who regard the officers and the traveling public as performers for their entertainment, is considerably increased during fair weather.”
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Last updated: Sep 16, 2016
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