Shadow Wolves

The "Shadow Wolves" are a <a href="/facts/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States/lr8Qmd6N">Native American</a> tactical patrol unit assigned to <a href="/facts/U.S._Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement/tX1kde9l">Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)</a> in Sells, <a href="/facts/Arizona/6ayM3swJ">Arizona</a> located on the <a href="/facts/Tohono_O%25CA%25BCodham_Nation/D0nKovGH">Tohono Oʼodham Nation</a> that runs along the <a href="/facts/Mexico%25E2%2580%2593United_States_border/pIL77aCf">Mexico–United States border</a>.
The Shadow Wolves specialize in the <a href="/facts/Interdiction/J7SPv8Kw">interdiction</a> of human and drug <a href="/facts/Smuggler/BdPclLAp">smugglers</a> in the <a href="/facts/Sonoran_Desert/RqlWcLnd">Sonoran Desert</a>, utilizing both technology and the traditional <a href="/facts/Tracking_(hunting)/saok0opj">tracking</a> methods. In addition to the use of high-tech equipment, the unit relies on tracking techniques such as "cutting for sign", which includes investigating any kind of physical evidence left by smugglers (e.g., footprints, tire tracks, thread, clothing). The Shadow Wolves are the Department of Homeland Security's only Native American tracking unit specifically utilized for targeted interdiction operations.
The unit was established by Congressional mandate in 1974 in response to rampant smuggling occurring through the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Shadow Wolves open-in-new

Shadow Wolves