CBP Must Stop City Raids and Fight Wildlife Crime

CBP’s job is to protect the public and uphold the law—not to intimidate communities with aggressive operations in American cities.

Right now, CBP is pouring time, personnel, and power into immigration crackdowns that are spilling into neighborhoods and harming residents. These tactics escalate fear, erode trust, and put families in danger. And they come at a serious cost: they pull CBP away from critical work the agency is supposed to be doing every single day—intercepting illegal wildlife trafficking and enforcing the laws and agreements that protect animals from extinction.

The illegal wildlife trade is a global criminal enterprise. It fuels corruption and organized crime, devastates ecosystems, and inflicts immense suffering on animals who are captured, transported, and sold like contraband. From ivory and rhino horn to exotic birds, reptiles, big cats, and endangered marine life, traffickers exploit weak oversight and inconsistent enforcement to profit from cruelty.

CBP is positioned at key ports of entry and international transit points where this trade can be stopped—but only if the agency prioritizes it as Congress directed.

CBP has a duty to enforce the Lacey Act, the Endangered Species Act, and international agreements like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These protections are not optional. They are essential safeguards for wildlife, biodiversity, and the rule of law. When CBP diverts resources toward heavy-handed immigration operations, it undermines its ability to enforce these laws and agreements—and wildlife traffickers benefit.

We call on CBP to immediately:

1: End aggressive, militarized operations targeting residents in American cities

2: Refocus enforcement priorities on intercepting wildlife trafficking at ports of entry

3: Strengthen enforcement of the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act

4: Fully uphold CITES protections by identifying and stopping illegal imports and exports

5: Expand training, staffing, and coordination with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to investigate trafficking networks and prosecute offenders

CBP should not be treating American communities as targets while traffickers move endangered wildlife through our borders.

Stop the raids. Do your job. Enforce the laws that protect wildlife—and protect the public, too.

Sign the petition to demand CBP abandon assaults on American cities and focus on stopping wildlife trafficking.

The petition to U.S. Customs and Border Protection reads: You have a duty under federal law to enforce wildlife laws like the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act along with international agreements that address wildlife trafficking. Diverting resources away from this legal responsibility during an extinction crisis is irresponsible and jeopardizes the country's future. Please refocus your efforts away from American cities and protests and back onto preventing wildlife crime at ports of entry as the laws direct you to.