Homeland Security USA Premieres January 6th

December 8, 2008

Every day the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security patrol more than 100,000 miles of America’s borders. This territory includes airports, seaports, land borders, international mail centers, the open seas, mountains, deserts and even cyberspace. Now viewers will get an unprecedented look at the work of these men and women while they use the newest technology to safeguard our country and enforce our laws, in “Homeland Security USA,” which debuts with the episode “This is Your Car on Drugs,” TUESDAY, JANUARY 6 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

Comprised of 13 hour-long episodes shot entirely on location throughout the United States, “Homeland Security USA” is based on a popular Australian series now in its fifth season. Produced by Oscar and Emmy-winner Arnold Shapiro (“Scared Straight,” “Big Brother”), the series takes cameras into situations never before seen on television, with each episode covering eight or more locations on the “front lines” where the officers and agents work each day. They have a job that is dangerous, difficult and always unpredictable. These aren’t heroes. They’re average men and women working against an epic landscape. The Department’s missions include everything from vetting adoption papers and checking visitors’ passports to intercepting undocumented immigrants, drugs and other contraband, and stopping potential terrorists trying to cross our borders. What viewers will see is powerful, dramatic, unforgettable and emotional, with unexpected moments of humor.

The premiere episode, “This is Your Car on Drugs,” takes viewers inside some of the busiest international entry points to the U.S. At Los Angeles International Airport, a voluptuous 20-year-old woman arrives from Switzerland with no working papers but a suitcase full of titillating surprises! In the Pacific Northwest, at the Blaine, Washington border crossing, smugglers attempt to foil DHS canines by packing narcotics in baby diapers. Along the border between the U.S. and Mexico in the scorching heat of the desert outside of Tucson, Border Patrol agents race the clock to find six undocumented immigrants lost in the barren wilderness. In one of the most dramatic stories at the San Ysidro, California border crossing, a fake license plate tips a border officer off to a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, there are some unusual illegal items intercepted at the International Mail Center in Carson, California, including a “delicacy” officers are shocked to discover is actually barbecued bats.

“Homeland Security USA” has been given unprecedented access to the agencies of the Department of Homeland Security and has the full cooperation of CBP (Customs & Border Protection) including CBP’s Border Patrol; ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement); TSA (Transportation Security Administration); USCG (United States Coast Guard) and USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Services).

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