Management Alert - CBP's Use of Examination and Summons Authority Under 19 U.S.C. § 1509

In March 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a summons to Twitter, Inc., regarding the @ALT_USCIS user account for the purpose of identifying the owner of the account under 19 U.S.C. 1509. During our review, we identified issues concerning CBP's policies and practices with respect to Section 1509 summonses which resulted in inconsistent and, in some cases, improper use of such summonses. We determined that CBP can and should do more to ensure that its personnel are properly informed and educated about the appropriate use of Section 1509 summonses. We made one recommendation to CBP to immediately update its internal operating procedures to reflect the guidance of the use of Section 1509 summonses, train relevant staff on the use of such summonses and review the use of such summonses across the agency to determine how the summonses are used and whether its use comports with the law and updated policy.