United States Marshals Service

The United States Marshals Service is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice, tracing its origin to the Judiciary Act of 1789, when President George Washington created the office of United States Marshal at the country's founding, making its marshals the original federal law enforcement officers in American history, though the agency took its present organizational form in 1969. Its central responsibility is enforcing the orders of the federal courts and protecting the federal judiciary, a mandate that includes apprehending federal fugitives, administering the Federal Witness Protection Program, and operating the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System that moves federal prisoners between facilities and court appearances. Beyond conventional law enforcement, the Marshals Service has undertaken a number of distinctive security missions over its history, including escorting African American students during the desegregation of southern schools, guarding missile convoys, and managing the government's Strategic National Stockpile. Because of this direct constitutional link to the courts, the Marshals Service occupies a distinct place among United States federal agencies as the enforcement arm of the judiciary itself rather than of a specific regulatory or investigative mandate.