The MIA is in the top five in the United States for federal seizure of cash from travelers who do not legally declare it, which the MIA added $ 91.5 million between 2000 and 2016, according to the report by the Institute for Justice, a law firm of Virginia specialized in recovering money civilly seized by the federal government.

The airport seizure report, based on statistics from the Treasury Department’s seizure database, focuses on travelers whose money was seized by Customs. The typical infraction is not reporting the money, FinCEN Form 105, if it is more than $ 10,000.

The report says it says Customs officials seized $ 2 billion in more than 30,000 seizures at U.S. airports over a 17-year period. Much of that total, $ 500 million, was confiscated because travelers reported no more than $ 10,000 in cash.

“These procedural violations account for half of all currency seizures and more than a quarter of the total value seized without a demonstrated link to serious criminal activity,” said Jennifer McDonald, a research analyst at the institute and author of the report.

“Federal law enforcement agencies are tasked with finding and punishing those who break the law, but this suggests that the Department of Homeland Security’s seizure and money confiscation practices put innocent people at risk,” McDonald said.

Overall, Customs officials disagreed in part with the institute’s report conclusion: “The most common reason for currency seizure is failure to comply with declaration requirements, which is a violation of federal law. However, money seized by CBP at ports of entry has also been linked to mass cash smuggling, counterfeiting, drug trafficking and other criminal offenses. “

“An individual may request the return of the seized currency,” added the agency, “but the petitioner must prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate.”

Lawyers for the institute said the effort can be complicated and that recovering the money can take months and years.