Under what authority do officers operate at the port of entry?

• A. 8 USC 1325
• B. 42 USC 1983
• C. 8 USC 1226
• D. 8 CFR 287

Answer: (C)

Detention authority is the foundational basis for how officers operate at a port of entry. There is a statutory provision that directly empowers officers to apprehend and detain removable aliens while their status is determined and removal proceedings are pursued. This law gives the legal power to hold individuals in custody during screening, processing, and the early stages of removal at the border, which is exactly what port-of-entry operations require.

Regulations that implement enforcement actions (such as 8 CFR) guide how those duties are carried out in practice, but they do not themselves grant the detention authority. Other options refer to unrelated topics (unlawful entry, civil rights remedies) and do not establish the fundamental authority to detain at the port.

So the key point is that the detention statute provides the core authority for port-of-entry operations.