[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 915 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.915
One Hundred Twelfth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twelve
An Act
To establish a Border Enforcement Security Task Force program to enhance
border security by fostering coordinated efforts among Federal, State,
and local border and law enforcement officials to protect United States
border cities and communities from trans-national crime, including
violence associated with drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien
trafficking and smuggling, violence, and kidnapping along and across the
international borders of the United States, 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 ``Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement
Security Task Force Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) overriding
mission is to lead a unified national effort to protect the United
States. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is
the largest investigative agency within DHS and is charged with
enforcing a wide array of laws, including laws related to securing
the border and combating criminal smuggling.
(2) Mexico's northern border with the United States has
experienced a dramatic surge in border crime and violence in recent
years due to intense competition between Mexican drug cartels and
criminal smuggling organizations that employ predatory tactics to
realize their profits.
(3) Law enforcement agencies at the United States northern
border also face challenges from transnational smuggling
organizations.
(4) In response, DHS has partnered with Federal, State, local,
tribal, and foreign law enforcement counterparts to create the
Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) initiative as a
comprehensive approach to addressing border security threats. These
multi-agency teams are designed to increase information-sharing and
collaboration among the participating law enforcement agencies.
(5) BEST teams incorporate personnel from ICE, United States
Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATFE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the
United States Coast Guard (USCG), and the U.S. Attorney's Office
(USAO), along with other key Federal, State and local law
enforcement agencies.
(6) Foreign law enforcement agencies participating in BEST
include Mexico's Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP), the Canada
Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP),
and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
SEC. 3. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE.
(a) In General.--Subtitle C of title IV of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 432. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department a
program to be known as the Border Enforcement Security Task Force
(referred to in this section as `BEST').
``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of BEST is to establish units to
enhance border security by addressing and reducing border security
threats and violence by--
``(1) facilitating collaboration among Federal, State, local,
tribal, and foreign law enforcement agencies to execute coordinated
activities in furtherance of border security, and homeland
security; and
``(2) enhancing information-sharing, including the
dissemination of homeland security information among such agencies.
``(c) Composition and Establishment of Units.--
``(1) Composition.--BEST units may be comprised of personnel
from--
``(A) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
``(B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
``(C) the United States Coast Guard;
``(D) other Department personnel, as appropriate
``(E) other Federal agencies, as appropriate;
``(F) appropriate State law enforcement agencies;
``(G) foreign law enforcement agencies, as appropriate;
``(H) local law enforcement agencies from affected border
cities and communities; and
``(I) appropriate tribal law enforcement agencies.
``(2) Establishment of units.--The Secretary is authorized to
establish BEST units in jurisdictions in which such units can
contribute to BEST missions, as appropriate. Before establishing a
BEST unit, the Secretary shall consider--
``(A) whether the area in which the BEST unit would be
established is significantly impacted by cross-border threats;
``(B) the availability of Federal, State, local, tribal,
and foreign law enforcement resources to participate in the
BEST unit;
``(C) the extent to which border security threats are
having a significant harmful impact in the jurisdiction in
which the BEST unit is to be established, and other
jurisdictions in the country; and
``(D) whether or not an Integrated Border Enforcement Team
already exists in the area in which the BEST unit would be
established.
``(3) Duplication of efforts.--In determining whether to
establish a new BEST unit or to expand an existing BEST unit in a
given jurisdiction, the Secretary shall ensure that the BEST unit
under consideration does not duplicate the efforts of other
existing interagency task forces or centers within that
jurisdiction.
``(d) Operation.--After determining the jurisdictions in which to
establish BEST units under subsection (c)(2), and in order to provide
Federal assistance to such jurisdictions, the Secretary may--
``(1) direct the assignment of Federal personnel to BEST,
subject to the approval of the head of the department or agency
that employs such personnel; and
``(2) take other actions to assist Federal, State, local, and
tribal entities to participate in BEST, including providing
financial assistance, as appropriate, for operational,
administrative, and technological costs associated with the
participation of Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement
agencies in BEST.
``(e) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which BEST
is established under this section, and annually thereafter for the
following 5 years, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that
describes the effectiveness of BEST in enhancing border security and
reducing the drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien
trafficking and smuggling, violence, and kidnapping along and across
the international borders of the United States, as measured by crime
statistics, including violent deaths, incidents of violence, and drug-
related arrests.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents under section 1(b)
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101(b)) is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 431 the following:
``Sec. 432. Border Enforcement Security Task Force.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.