Washington, DC - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today a new proposal from the city of Douglas, Arizona has been selected as part of the Donations Acceptance Program. The city of Douglas proposed a donation of a parking lot and adjacent parcel of undeveloped land directly north of the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry to better enable CBP to implement parking lot security measures, reduce port congestion and provide added commercial vehicle staging in support of Unified Cargo Processing efforts.

The Donations Acceptance Program enables CBP and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to explore, foster and facilitate partnerships for port of entry infrastructure and technology improvements.

“We are excited to partner with the city of Douglas in exploring small-scale, high-impact enhancements at the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry,” said Todd C. Owen, Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations. “The city’s proposal will significantly improve CBP’s ability to enhance port security, reduce congestion and increase commercial throughput.”

Pursuant to 6 U.S.C. § 301a, and more generally, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 6 U.S.C. §§ 112 et seq., as amended, CBP and GSA are authorized to accept donations of real property, personal property (including monetary donations) and non-personal services from private sector and government entities. Accepted donations may be used for port of entry construction, alterations, operations, and maintenance activities.

Public-private partnerships are a key component of CBP’s Resource Optimization Strategy and allow CBP to provide new or expanded services and infrastructure at domestic ports of entry. For more information, visit www.CBP.gov/DAP.