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This section describes arrests made by federal law enforcement agencies for violations of federal law, including the characteristics of arrestees. Warrants initiated and cleared by the U.S. Marshals Service are also reported. Persons suspected of violating federal law may be arrested by one of the many federal agencies empowered to make arrests or by state or local authorities.

A recent survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 65 federal agencies employed about 105,000 full-time officers with the authority to carry firearms and make arrests. See Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2004. Three-fifths of these officers were employed by four agencies:

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE).

Summary findings

Regardless of which agency makes the arrest, federal suspects are typically transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) for booking, processing, and detention. During 2004 USMS received 140,755 suspects for processing from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including approximately:

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• 40,000 from U.S. Customs and Border Protection
• 39,000 from the U.S. Marshals Service
• 12,000 from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
• 10,000 from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• 9,700 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

During 2004, 140,755 suspects were arrested for violations of federal law and subsequently booked by USMS. The greatest share of suspects arrested and booked (29%) were apprehended for immigration offenses. Other suspects were arrested for:

• drug offenses (25%)
• supervision violations (17%)
• property offenses (12%)
• weapon offenses (7%)
• public-order offenses (6%)
• securing and safeguarding a material witness (4%)
• violent offenses (3%).

Most arrests and bookings for immigration offenses (83%) were for illegal entry into the United States. Other arrests and bookings for immigration offenses involved:

• alien smuggling (11%)
• false claims of citizenship (3%)
• other immigration violations (4%).