[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S192-S193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 64. Mr. HEINRICH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 5, to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to
take into custody aliens who have been charged in the United States
with theft, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:
At the end of the bill, add the following:
SEC. 4. IMPROVING BORDER SECURITY.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Stop
Fentanyl at the Border Act''.
(b) Funding.--
(1) Enhancing law enforcement capabilities at the border.--
There is appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, for the Department of Homeland
Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026,
$3,409,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2028,
to support and enhance law enforcement capabilities at land
borders of the United States, of which--
(A) $300,000,000 shall be for additional civilian U.S.
Border Patrol processing coordinators;
(B) $1,750,000,000 shall be for additional U.S. Customs and
Border Protection officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents, and
mission support staff within the Office of Field Operations
and U.S. Border Patrol;
(C) $950,000,000 shall be for hiring bonuses, retention
bonuses, and retention-focused support services, including
mental health services, for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents, U.S. Border
Patrol processing coordinators, and any other U.S. Customs
and Border Protection staff whose work supports operations at
the land borders of the United States; and
(D) $409,000,000 shall be for ``U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services-Operations and Support'' to contribute
to improved operations along the land borders of the United
States.
(2) Increasing fentanyl interdiction and enhancing
processing capabilities at the border.--There is
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, $1,090,000,000, to
remain available until September 30, 2028, to increase drug
interdiction and processing capabilities at land borders of
the United States, of which--
(A) $960,000,000 shall be for technology improvements and
upgrades, which may include--
(i) the procurement and deployment of large-scale, small-
scale, and handheld non-intrusive inspection scanning systems
at ports of entry along the land borders of the United
States; and
(ii) upgrades to the information technology infrastructure
upon which these systems and associated software are
operated;
(B) $30,000,000 shall be for technological and procedural
improvements to the process of analyzing and adjudicating
images from non-intrusive inspection scanning technology at
land ports of entry, which may include support for the
continued development of anomaly detection algorithms to
enhance detection of illegal drugs at land ports of entry;
and
(C) $100,000,000 shall be for other technology and
infrastructure upgrades that the Commissioner for U.S.
Customs and Border Protection deems necessary for the
agency's drug interdiction work.
(3) Disrupting the outbound flow of firearms and currency
from the united states.--There is appropriated, out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for U.S.
Customs and Border Protection for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2026, $285,000,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2028, for increasing outbound inspection
capabilities, including disrupting the flow of firearms and
currency out of the United States, of which--
(A) $10,000,000 shall be for supporting the Outbound
Enforcement Branch within the Office of Field Operations to
develop and implement a comprehensive outbound inspection
policy and performance metrics to measure the impact of
outbound inspections; and
(B) $275,000,000 shall be for outbound inspections
infrastructure projects at the land borders of the United
States, including--
(i) technology and connectivity improvements at rural ports
of entry; and
(ii) safety and technology upgrades to outbound inspection
lanes at ports of entry.
(4) Disrupting transnational fentanyl networks.--There is
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026--
(A) $223,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2028, to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand
efforts to interdict fentanyl and other illegal drugs, and
disrupt networks operated by transnational criminal
organizations within the United States, of which--
(i) $113,000,000 shall be for additional Homeland Security
Investigations special agents;
(ii) $80,000,000 shall be for the implementation of
Homeland Security Investigations' Strategy for Combating
Illicit Opioids; and
(iii) $30,000,000 shall be for joint surge operations along
the land borders of the United States by Homeland Security
Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
(B) $68,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2028, to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which shall be
used for salaries and expenses relating to increased law
[[Page S193]]
enforcement activities along the land borders of the United
States;
(C) $60,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2028, to the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program;
(D) $110,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2028, to the Department of Justice for the Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Forces; and
(E) $50,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2028, to the U.S. Marshals Service for salaries and expenses
relating to increased law enforcement activities along the
land borders of the United States.
(c) Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Report on u.s. border patrol processing coordinators.--
Not later than March 31, 2028, the Commissioner for U.S.
Customs and Border Protection shall submit a report to
Congress that--
(A) details the impacts of Border Patrol Processing
Coordinator positions; and
(B) describes how such positions are supporting the mission
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(2) Report on new outbound inspections program.--Not later
than March 31, 2028, the Executive Assistant Commissioner of
the Office of Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection shall submit a report to Congress that details the
equipment that would be needed to establish a permanent
outbound inspections program to increase the rate of scanning
of motor vehicles departing the United States.
(3) Report on existing and planned scanning technology.--
Not later than March 31, 2028, the Executive Assistant
Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection shall submit a report to
Congress that details, for each United States land port of
entry--
(A) a summary of the non-intrusive inspection technology
that is in use or is being built out; and
(B) the major factors to consider regarding the future
procurement and deployment of large-scale, non-intrusive
inspection machines at the port of entry, including--
(i) existing limitations, including--
(I) the footprint of the port of entry;
(II) land that is available for use by U.S. Customs and
Border Protection at the port of entry; and
(III) any geological or environmental factors that would
affect construction timelines or costs;
(ii) the volume and modes of traffic at the port of entry,
and an estimate of the potential impacts of additional large-
scale, non-intrusive inspection systems being deployed, in
terms of additional seizures and impacts on transit times;
and
(iii) an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of deploying
additional large-scale non-intrusive inspection systems at
the port of entry.
(d) Penalties for Hindering Immigration, Border, and
Customs Controls.--
(1) Personnel and structures.--Chapter 8 of title II of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1321 et seq.) is
amended by inserting after section 274D the following:
``SEC. 274E. DESTROYING OR EVADING BORDER CONTROLS.
``(a) In General.--It shall be unlawful to knowingly and
without lawful authorization--
``(1)(A) destroy or significantly damage any fence,
barrier, sensor, camera, or other physical or electronic
device deployed by the Federal Government to control an
international border of, or a port of entry to, the United
States; or
``(B) otherwise construct, excavate, or make any structure
intended to defeat, circumvent or evade such a fence,
barrier, sensor camera, or other physical or electronic
device deployed by the Federal Government to control an
international border of, or a port of entry to, the United
States; and
``(2) in carrying out an act described in paragraph (1),
have the intent to knowingly and willfully--
``(A) secure a financial gain;
``(B) further the objectives of a criminal organization;
and
``(C) violate--
``(i) section 274(a)(1)(A)(i);
``(ii) the customs and trade laws of the United States (as
defined in section 2(4) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade
Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4301(4)));
``(iii) any other Federal law relating to transporting
controlled substances, agriculture, or monetary instruments
into the United States; or
``(iv) any Federal law relating to border control measures
of the United States.
``(b) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (a)
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned
for not more than 5 years, or both.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents for the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 274D
the following:
``Sec. 274E. Destroying or evading border controls.''.
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