[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2542 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2542

To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to hire, 
   train, and equip local law enforcement officials on and near the 
southern border of the United States, as well as to reimburse the costs 
     of paying overtime to such officials, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2007

 Mr. Rodriguez (for himself, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Culberson, Mr. Hinojosa, 
  Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Filner, Mr. Grijalva, and Mr. Ortiz) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to hire, 
   train, and equip local law enforcement officials on and near the 
southern border of the United States, as well as to reimburse the costs 
     of paying overtime to such officials, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Border Law Enforcement Enhancement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) It is the obligation of the Federal Government of the 
        United States to adequately secure the Nation's borders and 
        prevent the flow of undocumented persons and illegal drugs into 
        the United States.
            (2) Despite the fact that the United States Border Patrol 
        apprehends over 1,000,000 people each year trying to illegally 
        enter the United States, according to the Congressional 
        Research Service, the net growth in the number of unauthorized 
        aliens has increased by approximately 500,000 each year. The 
        southwest border accounts for approximately 94 percent of all 
        migrant apprehensions each year. Currently, there are an 
        estimated 11,000,000 unauthorized aliens in the United States.
            (3) The border region is also a major corridor for the 
        shipment of drugs. According to the El Paso Intelligence 
        Center, 65 percent of the narcotics that are sold in the 
        markets of the United States enter the country through the 
        Southwest Border.
            (4) Border communities continue to incur significant costs 
        due to the lack of adequate border security. A 2001 study by 
        the United States-Mexico Border Counties Coalition found that 
        law enforcement and criminal justice expenses associated with 
        illegal immigration exceed $89,000,000 annually for the 
        Southwest border counties.
            (5) In August 2005, the States of New Mexico and Arizona 
        declared states of emergency in order to provide local law 
        enforcement immediate assistance in addressing criminal 
        activity along the Southwest border.
            (6) While the Federal Government provides States and 
        localities assistance in covering costs related to the 
        detention of certain criminal aliens and the prosecution of 
        Federal drug cases, local law enforcement along the border are 
        provided no assistance in covering such expenses and must use 
        their limited resources to combat drug trafficking, human 
        smuggling, kidnappings, the destruction of private property, 
        and other border-related crimes.
            (7) The United States shares 5,525 miles of border with 
        Canada and 1,989 miles with Mexico. Many of the local law 
        enforcement agencies located along the border are small, rural 
        departments charged with patrolling large areas of land. 
        Counties along the Southwest United States-Mexico border are 
        some of the poorest in the country and lack the financial 
        resources to cover the additional costs associated with illegal 
        immigration, drug trafficking, and other border-related crimes.
            (8) Federal assistance is required to help local law 
        enforcement operating along the border address the unique 
        challenges that arise as a result of their proximity to an 
        international border and the lack of overall border security in 
        the region.

SEC. 3. BORDER RELIEF GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--From amounts made available under section 4, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security may make grants to--
            (1) sheriffs' offices of counties any part of which is 
        within 25 miles of the southern border of the United States; 
        and
            (2) police departments serving a city, town, or other 
        political subdivision in a county any part of which is within 
        25 miles of the southern border of the United States (including 
        tribal police departments serving a community any part of which 
        is within 25 miles of such border).
    (b) Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Grant funds received under subsection (a) 
        may be used for the following:
                    (A) To conduct law enforcement operations in order 
                to enforce criminal laws, prevent and punish criminal 
                activity, and protect the lives, property, and security 
                of the people within the jurisdiction of the grant 
                recipient.
                    (B) To transfer aliens detained or in the custody 
                of the grant recipient who are not lawfully present in 
                the United States to appropriate Federal law 
                enforcement officials.
                    (C) To enforce State and Federal laws relating to 
                controlled substance trafficking and enforce other 
                State and Federal criminal laws.
            (2) Payment of costs.--Use of funds under paragraph (1) 
        shall include payment for costs of--
                    (A) hiring, equipping, training, and otherwise 
                controlling the operations and deployment of, law 
                enforcement officials engaged in duties described in 
                paragraph (1), as well as the costs of paying overtime 
                to such officials; and
                    (B) detaining, housing, and transporting aliens who 
                are not lawfully present in the United States, and who 
                are taken into custody by the grant recipient, until 
                the aliens are transferred to appropriate Federal law 
                enforcement officials.
            (3) Detention facilities.--In accordance with paragraph 
        (2)(B), grant funds received under subsection (a) may be used 
        for the construction, maintenance, and operation of detention 
        facilities to detain aliens who are unlawfully present in the 
        United States, except that not more than 20 percent of such 
        funds may be used for the construction or renovation of 
        detention or similar facilities.
    (c) Application.--
            (1) In general.--Each eligible law enforcement agency 
        seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application 
        to the Secretary of Homeland Security at such time, in such 
        manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security may reasonably require.
            (2) Contents.--Each application submitted pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) describe the activities for which assistance 
                under this section is sought; and
                    (B) provide such additional assurances as the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security determines to be 
                essential to ensure compliance with the requirements of 
                this section.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to carry out this Act $150,000,000 for fiscal year 
2008 and each succeeding fiscal year.

SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAW.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize State or local 
law enforcement agencies or their officers to exercise Federal 
immigration law enforcement authority.

SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue regulations to carry out 
this Act.
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