Shadow Wolves - Overview

Overview

The Shadow Wolves comprise an Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactical patrol unit based on the Native American Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona. Shadow Wolf officers are known for their ability to track aliens and drug smugglers as they attempt to smuggle their illegal commodities across the border. The unit boasts an esteemed history of tracking passed down from generation to generation. The name “Shadow Wolves” refers to the way the unit hunts like a wolf pack. The Shadow Wolves were founded in 1972 as an initiative undertaken by the U.S. Congress to track drug smugglers on Native American lands in the American Southwest. Despite possession of high-tech equipment, the unit relies mainly on traditional methods of tracking, primarily a technique called “cutting for sign.” “Cutting” is searching for and analyzing “sign,” which includes any kind of physical evidence (footprints, tire tracks, thread, clothing, etc.). Officers may spend hours or days tracking in the field following a “sign” until arrests and seizures are made, or it has been determined that the contraband has been loaded into a vehicle and transported from the area.