Nappie On the Spot: Protecting Americans' Christmas Celebrations by Seizing Counterfeit Reindeer, Barbies, Cinderella and Bratz Dolls

DHS head Janet Napolitano is at the top of her game.

True, she refuses to secure the border. And, yes, she does slam the media for reporting on the outrage following the murder of a Border Patrol agent. Okay, it's true that she reportedly punished a pilot for pointing out huge, gaping holes in airport security.

But all that aside, it's clear that our beloved, baritone security chief has her heart in the right place.

Customs and Border Protection officers have been busy in the run-up to the holidays making sure counterfeit toys, some potentially dangerous, aren’t put under Christmas trees.

CBP said protection officers in the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex seized 55,080 counterfeit children’s electric ride-on toy vehicles Dec. 22. The vehicles, imported from China, had batteries underneath the seats with counterfeit Underwriters Laboratories component certification “RU” markings, according to the agency.

...On Dec. 21, CBP said it seized an additional 13,843 counterfeit toys that violated intellectual property rights in the months leading up to the holiday season at the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry, near San Diego, CA.

Beginning with a shipment during the last week of October, and ending with a shipment stopped at the beginning of December, CBP said import specialists at the entry point identified 5,472 counterfeit Barbie dolls, 24 counterfeit Cinderella dolls, 12 counterfeit Bratz dolls, 4,692 counterfeit Barbie medical playsets, 1,600 counterfeit hand-held Tetris electronic games, 36 counterfeit Lego blocks sets, 20 Chargers Bolt masks, 10 Superman mask/cape combinations, nine Spiderman mask/cape combinations, 816 toy cell phones with counterfeit Barbie, Mickey Mouse, and Winnie the Pooh images, and 1,152 counterfeit Disney’s 101 Dalmatians toy dogs.

But that's not all: federal officials also seized illegal decorative reindeer at LAX.

Federal officials have seized two decorative Christmas reindeer at Los Angeles International Airport... The owner, who brought the reindeer from El Salvador to LAX, did not have the proper certification to bring them into the U.S., customs officials said... Officials say agricultural specialists inspected the decorations and also found that the grass and seeds showed evidence of disease...

Glad to see Ms. Napolitano has her priorities straight. I feel more secure already.