19 U.S.C. § 507

Officers to make character known; assistance for officers

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(a) Every customs officer shall—(1) upon being questioned at the time of executing any of the powers conferred upon him, make known his character as an officer of the Federal Government; and(2) have the authority to demand the assistance of any person in making any arrest, search, or seizure authorized by any law enforced or administered by customs officers, if such assistance may be necessary.If a person, without reasonable excuse, neglects or refuses to assist a customs officer upon proper demand under paragraph (2), such person is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not more than $1,000.(b) Any person other than an officer or employee of the United States who renders assistance in good faith upon the request of a customs officer shall not be held liable for any civil damages as a result of the rendering of such assistance if the assisting person acts as an ordinary, reasonably prudent person would have acted under the same or similar circumstances.(R.S. § 3071; Pub. L. 99–570, title III, § 3152, Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207–94.)Editorial NotesCodification

R.S. § 3071 derived from act July 18, 1866, ch. 201, § 10, 14 Stat. 180.

Amendments

1986—Pub. L. 99–570 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “Every officer or other person authorized to make searches and seizures by this title, shall, at the time of executing any of the powers conferred upon him, make known, upon being questioned, his character as an officer or agent of the customs or Government, and shall have authority to demand of any person within the distance of three miles to assist him in making any arrests, search, or seizure authorized by this title, where such assistance may be necessary; and if such person shall, without reasonable excuse, neglect or refuse so to assist, upon proper demand, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $200, nor less than $5.”

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1965–2026 · leading case: United States v. Madell Collins, 349 F.2d 863 (2d Cir. 1965).

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United States v. Madell Collins, 349 F.2d 863 (2d Cir. 1965). “§ 3071 (1875), 19 U.S.C. § 507 (1958), which states that a customs officer “shall have authority to demand of any person within the distance of three miles to assist him in making any arrests, search, or seizure authorized by this title, where such assistance may be necessary…”

United States v. Eleven Thousand Five Hundred & Eighty Dollars ($11,580) in United States Currency, 454 F. Supp. 376 (M.D. Fla. 1978). “Further, it is the testimony of the officers, and the finding of this Court, that the currency was in “plain view” of the Tampa Police Department officer.”

United States v. Guiseppe Barbera, 514 F.2d 294 (2d Cir. 1975). “See 19 U.S.C. §§ 507 , 1581, 1582. See also Almeida-Sanchez v.”

United States v. Brown, 858 F. Supp. 297 (D.P.R. 1994). · cites it 2× “In essence, the government claims that the search was an extended border search and that 19 U.S.C. § 507 (a) conferred *300 upon the guardsmen “authorization” to act as customs agents.”

Tracy R. Anderson v. Sec'y, U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. (11th Cir. 2026). · cites it 2× “First, while CBPOs “have the authority to demand the assistance of any person in making any arrest, search, or seizure authorized by any law enforced or administered by customs officers, if such assistance may be necessary,” 19 U.S.C. § 507 (a)(2), there was sufficient evi-…”

Constitutionality of Legislation to Establish a Prog. to Prevent Aircraft Piracy (OLC 1973). “To our knowledge there are presently no federal statutes, other than 19 U.S.C. § 507 and 18 U.S.C. § 3053 referred to above, authorizing private individuals to arrest or to assist in the arrest for federal crimes.”

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