[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
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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\
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\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).
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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\
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\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).
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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\
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\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).
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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\
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\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.
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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\
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\14\Id.
\15\Id.
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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.
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\16\U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, ICE Criminal
Investigator (Oct. 2021) (www.ice.gov/careers/criminal-investigator).
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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]