House Homeland Security Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Friday introduced a border security bill that targets billions of dollars in funding for physical barriers and to strengthen security at the nation’s ports of entry but also calls for specific technology deployments at various sectors along the northern and southern borders of the United States.
Separately, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), a member of McCaul’s committee, introduced a bipartisan bill last Thursday that emphasizes technology for border security along the U.S. border with Mexico, and also calls for a comprehensive southern border strategy that examines existing physical barriers, technology and other tools, related costs and justifications.
McCaul’s 95-page bill, the Border Security for America Act, would authorize $10 billion for physical barriers and related infrastructure, technology, air assets and other barriers, and another $5 billion to improve and modernize U.S. ports of entry, to include intrusion and detection capabilities.
The legislation also calls for the Department of Homeland Security to provide Congress with a report outlining Customs and Border Protection’s plans—including timelines and costs—for deploying a biometric exit system. It also requires the department to deploy a biometric exist system at the nation’s 15 largest airports, seaports and land border crossings within two years of enactment. CBP is currently evaluating biometric exit systems at international departure gates at several U.S. airports as part of an effort to better track visa overstays.
“We are talking about a historic, multi-layered defense system that makes it nearly impossible for bad actors to slip through the cracks,” McCaul said in a statement. “We must have physical barriers, including a wall where necessary and fencing when appropriate, the right technology, and more personnel in place to enforce our laws and detain those attempting to enter illegally.”
McCaul’s bill would also add 5,000 more Border Patrol agents and 5,000 additional CBP officers, and make it easier to hire veterans and law enforcement personnel for these jobs. It also authorizes the use of the National Guard to help with aviation and intelligence support.
Hurd’s 11-page bill, the Secure Miles with All Resources and Technology (SMART) Act (H.R. 3479), includes Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Steve Knight (R-Calif.), Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) as co-sponsors.
The measure would mandate that by Jan. 20, 2021, DHS “deploy the most practical and effective technology available along the United States border for achieving situational awareness and operational control of the border.” The technology includes radar surveillance, airborne vehicle dismounted radar exploitation radar, also called VADER, three-dimensional acoustic and ranging sensors for tunnel detection, unmanned cameras, man-portable and vehicle-mounted unmanned aerial vehicles, other sensors and advanced tools and devices.
“We need a smart wall that uses high-tech resources like sensors, radar, LIDAR, fiber optics, drones and cameras to detect and then track incursions across our border so we can deploy efficiently our most important resource, the men and women of Border Patrol to perform the most difficult task—interdiction,” Hurd said in a statement. “With a smart wall, we can have a more secure border at a fraction of the cost that can be implemented and fully operational in a year.”
The House last Thursday approved a minibus appropriations bill that includes President Donald Trump’s $1.6 billion request for new and replacement physical barriers on the southern border. Hurd last week at a border security hearing called for a smarter approach to border security that takes advantage of technology, which he said costs a lot less than physical barriers.