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Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense

A Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence

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About CBTS

A DHS Center of Excellence focused on Border Security 

CBTS Benefits to National Security
CBTS project successes
CBTS contributions to securing the texas border

The Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS) Center of Excellence (COE) at Texas A&M University directly aligns with the Administration’s priorities addressing biological threats that could impact public health, agriculture, and the economy, contributing to U.S. border and National security.

CBTS’s mission reflects the national strategy laid out in President Trump’s letter to OSTP Director Michael Kratsios, calling for accelerated research, resilient domestic supply chains, and leadership in critical and emerging technologies. Our Center was established during the first Trump Administration, in response to threats identified in the DHS 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: growing pressures from globalization, including high-risk cargo, transnational food imports, risks to agriculture, illicit species and counterfeit goods…and the proliferation of life science knowledge. These threats have only amplified in the intervening years.

Now, under the current Trump Administration, CBTS aligns closely with “America First” strategic priorities and actively supports S&T priority areas of strengthening national security through robust border protection, countering transnational criminal organizations and other illicit actors, and expediting lawful trade and travel. Further, CBTS works on a secondary DHS S&T research priority, threat characterization, detection, and mitigation, specifically focused on biological threats to agriculture, frontline DHS personnel and associated communities, and the subsequent economic impacts.

CBTS programs support DHS mission objectives by delivering research, tools, and training to strengthen national security.   

Workforce Development and Training: 

  • Border Patrol Readiness and Equine Health: Border Patrol Agents operating in austere environments depend on horses for mobility and safety. CBTS is developing essential training to equip agents with the skills necessary to detect early signs of equine distress and respond to emergencies in the field. This training not only safeguards the welfare of service animals but directly supports agent effectiveness. A similar initiative for DHS working dogs is planned, affecting health and effectiveness of the canines and their handlers along the border.
  • Training over 30,000 CBP agents about animal and plant infectious diseases and disease epidemiology so that personnel have a heightened awareness of biothreats in their daily work and activities. 
  • X-ray training for CBP, piloted with TSA agents, to be developed for detection of biological threats in scenarios developed from actual Ag-bio encounters in the field. 
  • Industry and government workshops simulating supply chain disruptions affecting trade at the Southern border. These collaborations aid working relationships, enforcement, and the resumption of business activities after events. 

Research:  

  • Protection of DHS Canine Units and Human Health: CBTS is conducting vital diagnostic work to assess Chagas disease and cardiac risks in CBP working dogs, animals that are both costly and extremely time-consuming to replace. This work enhances the health and longevity of canine units, while also minimizing the risk exposure to human handlers.
  • African Swine Fever (ASF) Prevention: ASF is a deadly, highly contagious disease of pigs now established in the Caribbean and dangerously close to U.S. shores. If introduced into the U.S., ASF would devastate the pork industry, halting pork exports and triggering up to $15 billion in losses over just two years, and as much as $50 billion if the disease takes hold over a decade.  This threat exceeds the economic damage associated with highly pathogenic avian influenza, and resulting shortages and spikes in egg prices. CBTS validated field-ready methods to detect the virus on surfaces likely to introduce the virus into the U.S. Additional work focused on understanding and interrupting tick-mediated transmission of ASF, essential for viral control and economic recovery.
  • Border Detection of Invasive Species: CBTS is advancing technologies and methods for detecting invasive species and insect pests crossing the border, and threatening our agriculture, food, and related industries. In 2023 alone, these industries contributed $1.537 trillion to U.S. GDP, a sector whose security is inseparable from the nation’s economic and public health stability.
  • Supply Chain Security and Safety of Pharmaceuticals: CBTS worked with Quantifind, employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to actively identify and mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities, including Chinese-origin companies, and critical pharmaceutical compounds and precursors.
  • Supply Chain Security of Imported Vitamin Supplies: The U.S. depends on imported vitamins for livestock nutrition and production. This dependency poses significant risks to U.S. livestock and public health, as China has cornered global vitamin and vital micronutrient production.