[Senate Report 117-235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 599

117th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                           { 117-235

======================================================================
                     SHADOW WOLVES ENHANCEMENT ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T
                                
                                OF THE

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              TO ACCOMPANY

                                S. 2541

                TO AUTHORIZE THE RECLASSIFICATION OF THE
             TACTICAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS (COMMONLY KNOWN
               AS THE ``SHADOW WOLVES'') IN THE HOMELAND
              SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS TACTICAL PATROL UNIT
 OPERATING ON THE LANDS OF THE TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION AS SPECIAL AGENTS

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                December 7, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
                
                             __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                          WASHINGTON : 2023                     
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
               
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
         Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
                    Sarah C. Pierce, Senior Counsel
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Jeremy H. Hayes, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                                                  Calendar No. 599

117th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                           { 117-235

======================================================================
 
                     SHADOW WOLVES ENHANCEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

                December 7, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2541]

      Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2541), to authorize 
the reclassification of the tactical enforcement officers 
(commonly known as the ``Shadow Wolves'') in the Homeland 
Security Investigations tactical patrol unit operating on the 
lands of the Tohono O'odham Nation as special agents, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment, in the native of a substitute, and recommends that 
the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............4
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............6

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    S. 2541, the Shadow Wolves Enhancement Act, authorizes U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reclassify 
officers assigned to the tactical patrol unit on Tohono O'odham 
Nation land, commonly known as Shadow Wolves, as ICE special 
agents, upon the completion of certain training obligations. 
The bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) to develop a strategy for retaining and recruiting Shadow 
Wolves, and for expanding comparable units. The bill then 
requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess 
the effectiveness of the DHS strategy and provide 
recommendations for improvements.

              II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Native American nations are vital to the security, 
livelihoods, and culture along the United States' borders. 
There are approximately seven Tribal nations that span the 
U.S.-Mexico border, including the Tohono O'odham Nation, which 
governs the second largest Indigenous land holding in the 
United States.\1\ The Nation spans 2.8 million acres in 
southern Arizona's Sonoran Desert, including 76 miles along the 
U.S.-Mexico border.\2\ The Tohono O'odham Nation's ancestral 
lands pre-date the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 that established 
the current U.S.-Mexico border, which did not take into 
consideration the effect that such a national border would have 
on native populations.\3\ Today, the Tohono O'odham Nation 
straddles the border, stretching into the Mexican state of 
Sonora, where about 2,000 of the tribe's 34,000 members 
live.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Indigenous Alliance Without Borders, Handbook on Indigenous 
Peoples' Border Crossing Rights Between the United States and Mexico 
(www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/IndigenousAlliance 
WithoutBorders.pdf) (accessed Jan. 17, 2022).
    \2\Tohono O'odham Nation, History and Culture (www.tonation-
nsn.gov/history-culture/) (accessed Jan. 17, 2022).
    \3\Id.
    \4\A border tribe, and the wall that will divide it, USA Today 
Network (Sept. 20, 2017) (www.usatoday.com/border-wall/story/tohono-
oodham-nation-arizona-tribe/582487001).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    With the increasing focus of enforcement of the Southern 
border in the past century, the relationship between the U.S. 
government and the Tohono O'odham Nation has at times become 
strained.\5\ Both the Tohono O'odham Nation and U.S. Border 
Patrol have faced the mounting challenges of human trafficking, 
drug and weapons smuggling, and other illegal activities in 
their territory but have struggled to find a balance of 
prioritizing security while respecting the sovereignty of the 
Tohono O'odham Nation.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Id.
    \6\In Arizona Desert, Indian Trackers vs. Smugglers, New York Times 
(March 7, 2007) (www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/washington/
07wolves.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In an effort to strike this balance, the Shadow Wolves law 
enforcement unit was established by an Act of Congress in 1974 
to create a native hiring preference for DHS patrol units that 
operate on Tribal lands. Shadow Wolves are members of the 
Tohono O'odham Nation who work for the Homeland Security 
Investigations (HSI) division of ICE.\7\ Shadow Wolves patrol 
the 76-mile stretch of land the Nation shares with Mexico and 
are known for their ability to track drug smugglers.\8\ The 
name ``Shadow Wolves'' refers to the way the unit hunts like a 
wolf pack, which includes searching for any kind of physical 
evidence (footprints, clothing, tire tracks, thread, etc.) to 
track smugglers.\9\ To be eligible for membership in the Shadow 
Wolves, individuals must have at least one-quarter Native 
American ancestry, which is determined and approved by the 
Tohono O'odham Nation.\10\ The unit improves relationships 
between DHS and Tribal communities, which have suffered 
historically from broken promises from the U.S. government, 
over-policing, and most recently, the border wall construction 
that damaged Tribal cultural sites and separated members of the 
Nation across the border.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, ICE Shadow Wolves 
(Oct. 2021) (www.ice.gov/factsheets/shadow-wolves#::text=The%20Shadow 
%20Wolves%20are %20the,of%20land%20shared%20with%20Mexico).
    \8\Id.
    \9\Id.
    \10\In Arizona Desert, Indian Trackers vs. Smugglers, New York 
Times (March 7, 2007) (www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/washington/
07wolves.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin).
    \11\A border tribe, and the wall that will divide it, USA Today 
Network (Sept. 20, 2017) (www.usatoday.com/border-wall/story/tohono-
oodham-nation-arizona-tribe/582487001).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In addition to being accepted by the Tohono O'odham Nation, 
the Shadow Wolves units have proven to be highly effective in 
disrupting cross-border smuggling activities on Tribal 
lands.\12\ Shadow Wolves have led and participated in 
interdiction and investigative efforts that have resulted in 
437 drug and immigration arrests and the seizure of over 
117,264 pounds of drugs, 45 weapons, 251 vehicles and $847,928 
in U.S. currency, between 2010 and 2020.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, ICE Shadow Wolves 
(Oct. 2021) (www.ice.gov/factsheets/shadow-
wolves#::text=The%20Shadow%20Wolves%20are%20the,of%20land 
%20shared%20with%20Mexico).
    \13\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    They are a key component of the Native American Targeted 
Investigations of Violent Enterprises (NATIVE) Task Force, a 
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative formed 
in August 2013, to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking 
organizations operating within the Tohono O'odham Nation.\14\ 
As part of the NATIVE Task Force, the Shadow Wolves played an 
important role in Operation Rocky Top 2, which dismantled a 
component of the Sinaloa Cartel.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\Id.
    \15\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This bill reclassifies Shadow Wolves from tactical officers 
to special agents, which allows them to better investigate and 
track cross-border criminal activity. Currently, Shadow Wolves 
are classified as tactical officers under HSI. However, HSI has 
phased out tactical officers in favor of special agents who can 
carry out a broader range of border security activities, 
including but not limited to investigating terrorism, human 
trafficking, drug smuggling, and child exploitation.\16\ HSI 
gave other tactical officers the option to become special 
agents, but Shadow Wolves were not afforded the same 
opportunity due to their special classification. This bill 
seeks to rectify this disparity and modernize the Shadow Wolves 
units. This bill also provides the ability to expand the Shadow 
Wolves program to other parts of the Southern border, as well 
as expanding comparable units at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-
Canada borders. This bill enhances border security while 
preserving the important legacy of this unit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, ICE Criminal 
Investigator (Oct. 2021) (www.ice.gov/careers/criminal-investigator).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced S. 2541, the 
Shadow Wolves Enhancement Act, on July 29, 2021, with Senator 
John Hoeven (R-ND). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 2541 at a business meeting on 
November 3, 2021. During the business meeting, a substitute 
amendment, which made technical corrections, was offered by 
Senator Sinema and adopted by voice vote en bloc. Senators 
present for the vote on the substitute amendment were: Peters, 
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, 
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley. The bill, as amended by 
the Sinema Substitute Amendment, was ordered reported favorably 
by voice vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote on the 
bill were: Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, 
Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the short title for the bill as the 
``Shadow Wolves Enhancement Act''.

Sec. 2. Reclassification of Shadow Wolves as GS-1811 special agents

    This section gives authority to the Director of ICE to 
reclassify Shadow Wolves from GS-1801 tactical enforcement to 
GS-1811 special agents upon successful completion of two 
specified training programs. This section also gives the 
Director of ICE authority to reclassify any Shadow Wolves hired 
as part of a comparable unit, regardless of location, upon 
successful completion of the training, with the approval and 
consent of the appropriate Indian tribe.

Sec. 3. Expansion of Shadow Wolves Program

    This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
create a plan to retain existing Shadow Wolves members, recruit 
new members, and expand the program to relevant Tribal areas 
along both the international borders between the United States 
and Canada and between the United States and Mexico, with the 
approval and consent of the appropriate Indian tribe.

Sec. 4. GAO Report

    One year after completion of the strategy required under 
Section 3, and annually for the following two years, this 
section requires the Comptroller General to review DHS's Shadow 
Wolves expansion strategy to assess its effectiveness and make 
recommendations to improve the strategy.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or Tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, March 4, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2541, the Shadow 
Wolves Enhancement Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lindsay 
Wylie.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    
    

    S. 2541 would authorize Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
(ICE) to convert officers in the Native American tactical 
patrol unit in the Tohono O'odham Nation, referred to as 
``Shadow Wolves,'' to a special agent pay status after meeting 
certain training requirements. The bill also would require ICE 
to develop a strategy within 90 days to retain and recruit 
Shadow Wolves and expand the Shadow Wolves program. 
Additionally, S. 2541 would require the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the effectiveness of 
the ICE strategy annually for three years.
    There are currently eight Shadow Wolves employed by ICE, 
five of whom meet the training requirements for conversion to 
new pay status. CBO assumes officers who do not currently meet 
the training requirements will complete the training and all 
eight officers will convert to the new status within a year of 
eligibility. Based on those assumptions and information from 
the agency, CBO estimates implementing S. 2541 would cost ICE 
less than $500,000 over the 2022-2026 period for training, 
additional salaries, and developing the recruitment strategy. 
Furthermore, using information about the cost of similar 
activities, CBO estimates the cost of producing the GAO reports 
would be approximately $500,000 over the 2022-2026 period. 
Taken together, CBO estimates the bill would cost about $1 
million over the 2022-2026 period; such spending would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    On January 11, 2022, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 5681, the Shadow Wolves Enhancement Act, as ordered 
reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on October 
26, 2021. That bill is similar to S. 2541, as described above, 
and CBO's estimates for the bills are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Lindsay Wylie. 
The estimate was reviewed by Leo Lex, Deputy Director of Budget 
Analysis.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    This legislation would make no change in existing law, 
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of 
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this 
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current 
law.

                            [all]