National Targeting Center

The National Targeting Center (NTC) is a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). It is based in Sterling, Virginia.[1] The NTC observes air traffic and trade activities,[2] gathers and vets intelligence, and is empowered to send e-mails requesting that U.S. citizens be detained and questioned.[3]

US Customs and Border Protection Field Operations perform daily operational duties at the National Targeting Center (NTC)

The National Targeting Center includes several divisions, including: NTC-Cargo, NTC-Passenger, Counter-Network, and National Targeting Center – Investigations (NTC-I). The latter was established in 2013.[4]

The NTC was initially established in 2001; its original name was Office of Border Security.[5]

In 2017, the NTC approached journalists "as part of a broader effort to get reporters to write about forced labor around the world as a national security issue." The journalists included Ali Watkins and Martha Mendoza. The issue came to light from a redacted Inspector General report given to the Associated Press.[6]

In 2021, CBP launched an investigation of the NTC's targeting of journalists, members of Congress, and others.[7] In 2022, CBP agreed to release to the U.S. Senate the Inspector General's report previously leaked to the Associated Press, in exchange for Senate approval of an employee.[8]


References
  1. "CBP National Targeting Center | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Preview".
  2. "U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations Officer Conduct Global Observations of Air Traffic and Trade Activities | Homeland Security".
  3. Melissa del Bosque (4 September 2021). "SECRETIVE CBP COUNTERTERRORISM TEAMS INTERROGATED 180,000 U.S. CITIZENS OVER TWO-YEAR PERIOD". The Intercept. Retrieved 3 January 2022. CBP's National Targeting Center, which gathers and vets intelligence [...] an analyst from the National Targeting Center sent an email to the TTRT at the airport requesting that Gach be detained and questioned
  4. "HSI FY18 Achievements: Opioids".
  5. "Mou 225-14-026". FDA. 3 November 2018.
  6. MARK SHERMAN (11 December 2021). "Watchdog: Federal anti-terror unit investigated journalists". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 December 2021. assigned to the border agency unit, part of the National Targeting Center in Sterling, Virginia, in 2017. He told investigators he initially approached Watkins as part of a broader effort to get reporters to write about forced labor around the world as a national security issue. He also described similar efforts with AP reporter Martha Mendoza
  7. Winter, Jana (31 December 2021). "CBP launches review of secretive division that targeted journalists, lawmakers and other Americans". Yahoo News. Retrieved 3 January 2022. CBP's internal probe was prompted by Yahoo News' reporting earlier this month on Operation Whistle Pig, a leak investigation targeting reporter Ali Watkins
  8. Jana Winter. "DHS to provide Congress with Operation Whistle Pig report detailing spying on journalists, lawmakers". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 11 June 2023. "We have a commitment to get the Whistle Pig IG report within 30 days," Keith Chu, a spokesperson for Wyden told Yahoo News. "This was a condition of supporting Wainstein."
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