| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 506 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To require assessments for Foreign Terrorist Organization designations, au- |
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| 6 | 6 | | thorize certain appropriations for certain fiscal years for Operation |
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| 7 | 7 | | Stonegarden, and for other purposes. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 9 | 9 | | JANUARY16, 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Mr. T |
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| 11 | 11 | | ONYGONZALESof Texas (for himself, Mr. CISCOMANI, Ms. SALAZAR, |
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| 12 | 12 | | Ms. D |
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| 13 | 13 | | ELACRUZ, Mr. FEENSTRA, Mr. EVANSof Colorado, Mr. |
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| 14 | 14 | | V |
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| 15 | 15 | | ALADAO, Mrs. KIM, Mr. KEAN, Mr. BABIN, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. |
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| 16 | 16 | | W |
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| 17 | 17 | | EBERof Texas, Mrs. HINSON, Mr. HIGGINSof Louisiana, and Mr. |
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| 18 | 18 | | M |
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| 19 | 19 | | OYLAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- |
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| 20 | 20 | | mittee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on the |
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| 21 | 21 | | Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in |
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| 22 | 22 | | each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- |
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| 23 | 23 | | tion of the committee concerned |
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| 24 | 24 | | A BILL |
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| 25 | 25 | | To require assessments for Foreign Terrorist Organization |
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| 26 | 26 | | designations, authorize certain appropriations for certain |
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| 27 | 27 | | fiscal years for Operation Stonegarden, and for other |
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| 28 | 28 | | purposes. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 32 | 32 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Security First Act’’. 4 |
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| 34 | 34 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 35 | 35 | | •HR 506 IH |
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| 36 | 36 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 |
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| 37 | 37 | | Congress finds the following: 2 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (1) Since FY2021, there were more than 8.72 3 |
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| 39 | 39 | | million encounters at the Southwest border. 4 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (2) Since FY2021, there have been roughly 2 5 |
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| 41 | 41 | | million known ‘‘gotaways’’ that have evaded United 6 |
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| 42 | 42 | | States Border Patrol. 7 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (3) Since FY2021, there were 395 encounters 8 |
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| 44 | 44 | | in between our borders with individuals on the Ter-9 |
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| 45 | 45 | | rorist Screening Dataset, also known as the terrorist 10 |
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| 46 | 46 | | watchlist. 11 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (4) Since FY2021, 9,254 pounds of fentanyl 12 |
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| 48 | 48 | | have been seized between ports of entry nationwide. 13 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (5) In 2023, there were 105,007 opioid deaths, 14 |
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| 50 | 50 | | with 72,776 deaths involving synthetic opioids like 15 |
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| 51 | 51 | | fentanyl. 16 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (6) Mexican cartels and transnational criminal 17 |
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| 53 | 53 | | organizations have been linked to committing severe 18 |
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| 54 | 54 | | crimes including homicides, rape, sexual assault, and 19 |
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| 55 | 55 | | kidnappings, and significantly influence drug traf-20 |
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| 56 | 56 | | ficking and human trafficking across the Southwest 21 |
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| 57 | 57 | | border, organizing and profiting off these illicit oper-22 |
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| 58 | 58 | | ations. 23 |
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| 59 | 59 | | (7) In 2024, U.S. Border Patrol sent out mul-24 |
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| 60 | 60 | | tiple alerts to personnel warning of Mexican cartel 25 |
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| 61 | 61 | | members being permitted to shoot at Border Patrol 26 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | •HR 506 IH |
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| 65 | 65 | | Agents and engage in retaliatory shootings, a direct 1 |
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| 66 | 66 | | threat to homeland security. 2 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (8) In 2024, Homeland Security Investigations 3 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (HSI) sent out an alert to personnel that Ven-4 |
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| 69 | 69 | | ezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had been given the 5 |
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| 70 | 70 | | ‘‘green light’’ to fire on or attack law enforcement 6 |
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| 71 | 71 | | in Colorado, a direct threat to homeland security. 7 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (9) State and local law enforcement continue to 8 |
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| 73 | 73 | | assume a larger and critical role aiding federal law 9 |
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| 74 | 74 | | enforcement in border security operations with lim-10 |
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| 75 | 75 | | ited, finite resources. 11 |
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| 76 | 76 | | (10) Federal, State, and local law enforcement 12 |
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| 77 | 77 | | need the resources necessary to secure U.S. borders 13 |
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| 78 | 78 | | and protect the homeland. 14 |
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| 79 | 79 | | SEC. 3. OPERATION STONEGARDEN APPROPRIATIONS AND 15 |
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| 80 | 80 | | TRUST FUND. 16 |
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| 81 | 81 | | (a) C |
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| 82 | 82 | | ERTAINAPPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized 17 |
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| 83 | 83 | | to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2025 through 18 |
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| 84 | 84 | | 2028 $110,000,000 for the Operation Stonegarden grant 19 |
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| 85 | 85 | | program, and not less than $36,666,666 for each of fiscal 20 |
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| 86 | 86 | | years 2025 through 2028 to procure technology and equip-21 |
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| 87 | 87 | | ment, including communications equipment, sensors, and 22 |
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| 88 | 88 | | drone technology. 23 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (b) O |
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| 90 | 90 | | PERATIONSTONEGARDENTRUSTFUND.— 24 |
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| 93 | 93 | | •HR 506 IH |
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| 94 | 94 | | (1) CREATION OF TRUST FUND .—There is es-1 |
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| 95 | 95 | | tablished in the Treasury of the United States a 2 |
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| 96 | 96 | | trust fund to be known as the ‘‘Operation 3 |
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| 97 | 97 | | Stonegarden Trust Fund’’ (referred to in this sec-4 |
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| 98 | 98 | | tion as the ‘‘Trust Fund’’), consisting of amounts 5 |
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| 99 | 99 | | transferred to the Trust Fund under paragraph (2). 6 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (2) T |
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| 101 | 101 | | RANSFERS TO TRUST FUND .—The Sec-7 |
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| 102 | 102 | | retary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Trust 8 |
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| 103 | 103 | | Fund, from the general fund of the Treasury, for 9 |
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| 104 | 104 | | fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter until 10 |
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| 105 | 105 | | 2028, an amount equivalent to the amount received 11 |
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| 106 | 106 | | into the general fund during that fiscal year attrib-12 |
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| 107 | 107 | | utable to unreported monetary instruments seized by 13 |
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| 108 | 108 | | U.S. Customs and Border Protection from individ-14 |
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| 109 | 109 | | uals crossing the United States and Mexico border. 15 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (3) U |
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| 111 | 111 | | SE OF TRUST FUND .—Amounts in the 16 |
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| 112 | 112 | | Trust Fund shall be made available to the Secretary 17 |
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| 113 | 113 | | of Homeland Security, without further appropria-18 |
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| 114 | 114 | | tion, to fund the Operation Stonegarden grant pro-19 |
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| 115 | 115 | | gram. 20 |
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| 116 | 116 | | (4) L |
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| 117 | 117 | | IMITATION.—The Secretary may only ex-21 |
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| 118 | 118 | | pend funds made available from the Trust Fund to 22 |
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| 119 | 119 | | carry out the activity described in paragraph (3). 23 |
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| 120 | 120 | | (5) M |
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| 121 | 121 | | ONETARY INSTRUMENT .— 24 |
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| 124 | 124 | | •HR 506 IH |
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| 125 | 125 | | (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 1 |
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| 126 | 126 | | subparagraph (B), a monetary instrument 2 |
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| 127 | 127 | | means— 3 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (i) coin or currency of the United 4 |
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| 129 | 129 | | States or of any other country; 5 |
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| 130 | 130 | | (ii) traveler’s checks in any form; 6 |
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| 131 | 131 | | (iii) negotiable instruments, including 7 |
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| 132 | 132 | | checks, promissory notes, and money or-8 |
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| 133 | 133 | | ders in bearer form, endorsed without re-9 |
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| 134 | 134 | | striction, made out to a fictitious payee, or 10 |
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| 135 | 135 | | otherwise in such form that title thereto 11 |
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| 136 | 136 | | passes upon delivery; 12 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (iv) incomplete instruments, including 13 |
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| 138 | 138 | | checks, promissory notes, and money or-14 |
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| 139 | 139 | | ders that are signed but on which the 15 |
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| 140 | 140 | | name of the payee has been omitted; and 16 |
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| 141 | 141 | | (v) securities or stock in bearer form 17 |
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| 142 | 142 | | or otherwise in such form that title thereto 18 |
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| 143 | 143 | | passes upon delivery. 19 |
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| 144 | 144 | | (B) E |
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| 145 | 145 | | XCEPTION.—A monetary instrument 20 |
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| 146 | 146 | | referred to in subparagraph (A) does not in-21 |
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| 147 | 147 | | clude— 22 |
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| 148 | 148 | | (i) checks or money orders made pay-23 |
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| 149 | 149 | | able to the order of a named person which 24 |
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| 152 | 152 | | •HR 506 IH |
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| 153 | 153 | | have not been endorsed or which bear re-1 |
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| 154 | 154 | | strictive endorsements; 2 |
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| 155 | 155 | | (ii) warehouse receipts; or 3 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (iii) bills of lading. 4 |
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| 157 | 157 | | SEC. 4. FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION DESIGNA-5 |
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| 158 | 158 | | TIONS. 6 |
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| 159 | 159 | | (a) R |
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| 160 | 160 | | EPORT.— 7 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (1) I |
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| 162 | 162 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 8 |
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| 163 | 163 | | the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 9 |
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| 164 | 164 | | shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-10 |
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| 165 | 165 | | mittees a report on whether Mexican drug cartels 11 |
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| 166 | 166 | | and criminal gangs meet the criteria for designation 12 |
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| 167 | 167 | | as foreign terrorist organizations. 13 |
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| 168 | 168 | | (2) M |
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| 169 | 169 | | EXICAN DRUG CARTELS DESCRIBED .—The 14 |
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| 170 | 170 | | Mexican drug cartels and criminal gangs described 15 |
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| 171 | 171 | | in this paragraph are each of the following: 16 |
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| 172 | 172 | | (A) Jalisco New Generation Cartel. 17 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (B) Sinaloa Cartel. 18 |
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| 174 | 174 | | (C) Juarez Cartel. 19 |
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| 175 | 175 | | (D) Tijuana Cartel. 20 |
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| 176 | 176 | | (E) Gulf Cartel. 21 |
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| 177 | 177 | | (F) Los Zetas. 22 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (3) C |
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| 179 | 179 | | RIMINAL GANGS DESCRIBED .—The crimi-23 |
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| 180 | 180 | | nal gangs described in this paragraph refer to the 24 |
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| 181 | 181 | | Tren De Aragua. 25 |
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| 185 | 185 | | (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 |
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| 186 | 186 | | (1) A |
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| 187 | 187 | | PPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -2 |
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| 188 | 188 | | TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-3 |
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| 189 | 189 | | mittees’’ means— 4 |
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| 190 | 190 | | (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 5 |
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| 191 | 191 | | the Committee on Homeland Security of the 6 |
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| 192 | 192 | | House of Representatives; and 7 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 8 |
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| 194 | 194 | | and the Committee on Homeland Security and 9 |
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| 195 | 195 | | Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 10 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (2) F |
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| 197 | 197 | | OREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION .—The 11 |
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| 198 | 198 | | term ‘‘foreign terrorist organization’’ has the mean-12 |
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| 199 | 199 | | ing given the term in section 219 of the Immigration 13 |
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| 200 | 200 | | and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189). 14 |
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| 201 | 201 | | (3) S |
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| 202 | 202 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 |
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| 203 | 203 | | the Secretary of State. 16 |
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| 204 | 204 | | SEC. 5. SOUTHERN BORDER TECHNOLOGY NEEDS ANAL-17 |
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| 205 | 205 | | YSIS AND UPDATES. 18 |
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| 206 | 206 | | (a) T |
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| 207 | 207 | | ECHNOLOGYNEEDSANALYSIS.—Not later than 19 |
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| 208 | 208 | | 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 20 |
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| 209 | 209 | | Secretary shall submit, to the appropriate congressional 21 |
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| 210 | 210 | | committees, a technology needs analysis for border secu-22 |
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| 211 | 211 | | rity technology along the Southwest border. 23 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (b) C |
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| 213 | 213 | | ONTENTS.—The analysis required under sub-24 |
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| 214 | 214 | | section (a) shall include an assessment of— 25 |
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| 218 | 218 | | (1) the technology needs and gaps along the 1 |
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| 219 | 219 | | Southwest border— 2 |
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| 220 | 220 | | (A) to prevent terrorists and instruments 3 |
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| 221 | 221 | | of terror from entering the United States; 4 |
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| 222 | 222 | | (B) to combat and reduce cross-border 5 |
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| 223 | 223 | | criminal activity, including, but not limited to— 6 |
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| 224 | 224 | | (i) the transport of illegal goods, such 7 |
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| 225 | 225 | | as illicit drugs; and 8 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (ii) human smuggling and human 9 |
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| 227 | 227 | | trafficking; and 10 |
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| 228 | 228 | | (C) to facilitate the flow of legal trade 11 |
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| 229 | 229 | | across the Southwest border; 12 |
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| 230 | 230 | | (2) recent technological advancements in— 13 |
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| 231 | 231 | | (A) manned aircraft sensor, communica-14 |
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| 232 | 232 | | tion, and common operating picture technology; 15 |
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| 233 | 233 | | (B) unmanned aerial systems and related 16 |
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| 234 | 234 | | technology, including counter-unmanned aerial 17 |
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| 235 | 235 | | system technology; 18 |
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| 236 | 236 | | (C) surveillance technology, including— 19 |
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| 237 | 237 | | (i) mobile surveillance vehicles; 20 |
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| 238 | 238 | | (ii) associated electronics, including 21 |
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| 239 | 239 | | cameras, sensor technology, and radar; 22 |
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| 240 | 240 | | (iii) tower-based surveillance tech-23 |
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| 241 | 241 | | nology; 24 |
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| 245 | 245 | | (iv) advanced unattended surveillance 1 |
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| 246 | 246 | | sensors; and 2 |
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| 247 | 247 | | (v) deployable, lighter-than-air, 3 |
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| 248 | 248 | | ground surveillance equipment; 4 |
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| 249 | 249 | | (D) nonintrusive inspection technology, in-5 |
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| 250 | 250 | | cluding non-x ray devices utilizing muon tomog-6 |
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| 251 | 251 | | raphy and other advanced detection technology; 7 |
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| 252 | 252 | | (E) tunnel detection technology; and 8 |
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| 253 | 253 | | (F) communications equipment, includ-9 |
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| 254 | 254 | | ing— 10 |
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| 255 | 255 | | (i) radios; 11 |
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| 256 | 256 | | (ii) long-term evolution broadband; 12 |
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| 257 | 257 | | and 13 |
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| 258 | 258 | | (iii) miniature satellites; 14 |
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| 259 | 259 | | (3) any other technological advancements that 15 |
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| 260 | 260 | | the Secretary determines to be critical to the De-16 |
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| 261 | 261 | | partment’s mission along the Southwest border; 17 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (4) whether the use of the technological ad-18 |
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| 263 | 263 | | vances described in paragraphs (2) and (3) will— 19 |
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| 264 | 264 | | (A) improve border security; 20 |
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| 265 | 265 | | (B) improve the capability of the Depart-21 |
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| 266 | 266 | | ment to accomplish its mission along the South-22 |
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| 267 | 267 | | west border; 23 |
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| 268 | 268 | | (C) reduce technology gaps along the 24 |
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| 269 | 269 | | Southwest border; and 25 |
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| 273 | 273 | | (D) enhance the safety of any officer or 1 |
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| 274 | 274 | | agent of the Department or any other Federal 2 |
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| 275 | 275 | | agency; 3 |
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| 276 | 276 | | (5) the Department’s ongoing border security 4 |
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| 277 | 277 | | technology development efforts, including efforts 5 |
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| 278 | 278 | | by— 6 |
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| 279 | 279 | | (A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 7 |
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| 280 | 280 | | (B) the Science and Technology Direc-8 |
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| 281 | 281 | | torate; and 9 |
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| 282 | 282 | | (C) the technology assessment office of any 10 |
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| 283 | 283 | | other operational component; 11 |
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| 284 | 284 | | (6) the technology needs for improving border 12 |
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| 285 | 285 | | security, such as— 13 |
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| 286 | 286 | | (A) information technology or other com-14 |
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| 287 | 287 | | puter or computing systems data capture; 15 |
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| 288 | 288 | | (B) biometrics; 16 |
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| 289 | 289 | | (C) cloud storage; and 17 |
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| 290 | 290 | | (D) intelligence data sharing capabilities 18 |
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| 291 | 291 | | among agencies within the Department; 19 |
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| 292 | 292 | | (7) any other technological needs or factors, in-20 |
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| 293 | 293 | | cluding border security infrastructure, such as phys-21 |
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| 294 | 294 | | ical barriers or dual-purpose infrastructure, that the 22 |
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| 295 | 295 | | Secretary determines should be considered; and 23 |
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| 299 | 299 | | (8) currently deployed technology or new tech-1 |
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| 300 | 300 | | nology that would improve the Department’s abil-2 |
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| 301 | 301 | | ity— 3 |
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| 302 | 302 | | (A) to reasonably achieve operational con-4 |
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| 303 | 303 | | trol and situational awareness along the South-5 |
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| 304 | 304 | | west border; and 6 |
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| 305 | 305 | | (B) to collect metrics for securing the bor-7 |
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| 306 | 306 | | der at and between ports of entry, as required 8 |
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| 307 | 307 | | under subsections (b) and (c) of section 1092 of 9 |
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| 308 | 308 | | division A of the National Defense Authoriza-10 |
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| 309 | 309 | | tion Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (6 U.S.C. 223). 11 |
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| 310 | 310 | | (c) U |
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| 311 | 311 | | PDATES.— 12 |
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| 312 | 312 | | (1) I |
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| 313 | 313 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 13 |
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| 314 | 314 | | the submission of the analysis required under sub-14 |
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| 315 | 315 | | section (a), and biannually thereafter for the fol-15 |
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| 316 | 316 | | lowing 4 years, the Secretary shall submit an update 16 |
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| 317 | 317 | | to such analysis to the appropriate congressional 17 |
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| 318 | 318 | | committees. 18 |
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| 319 | 319 | | (2) C |
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| 320 | 320 | | ONTENTS.—Each update required under 19 |
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| 321 | 321 | | paragraph (1) shall include a plan for utilizing the 20 |
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| 322 | 322 | | resources of the Department to meet the border se-21 |
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| 323 | 323 | | curity technology needs and gaps identified pursuant 22 |
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| 324 | 324 | | to subsection (b), including developing or acquiring 23 |
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| 325 | 325 | | technologies not currently in use by the Department 24 |
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| 328 | 328 | | •HR 506 IH |
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| 329 | 329 | | that would allow the Department to bridge existing 1 |
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| 330 | 330 | | border technology gaps along the Southwest border. 2 |
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| 331 | 331 | | (d) I |
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| 332 | 332 | | TEMSTOBECONSIDERED.—In compiling the 3 |
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| 333 | 333 | | technology needs analysis and updates required under this 4 |
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| 334 | 334 | | section, the Secretary shall consider and examine— 5 |
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| 335 | 335 | | (1) technology that is deployed and is sufficient 6 |
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| 336 | 336 | | for the Department’s use along the Southwest bor-7 |
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| 337 | 337 | | der; 8 |
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| 338 | 338 | | (2) technology that is deployed, but is insuffi-9 |
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| 339 | 339 | | cient for the Department’s use along the Southwest 10 |
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| 340 | 340 | | border; 11 |
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| 341 | 341 | | (3) technology that is not deployed, but is nec-12 |
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| 342 | 342 | | essary for the Department’s use along the Southwest 13 |
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| 343 | 343 | | border; 14 |
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| 344 | 344 | | (4) current formal departmental requirements 15 |
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| 345 | 345 | | documentation examining current border security 16 |
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| 346 | 346 | | threats and challenges faced by any component of 17 |
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| 347 | 347 | | the Department; 18 |
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| 348 | 348 | | (5) trends and forecasts regarding migration 19 |
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| 349 | 349 | | across the Southwest border; 20 |
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| 350 | 350 | | (6) the impact on projected staffing and deploy-21 |
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| 351 | 351 | | ment needs for the Department, including staffing 22 |
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| 352 | 352 | | needs that may be fulfilled through the use of tech-23 |
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| 353 | 353 | | nology; 24 |
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| 357 | 357 | | (7) the needs and challenges faced by employees 1 |
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| 358 | 358 | | of the Department who are deployed along the 2 |
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| 359 | 359 | | Southwest border; 3 |
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| 360 | 360 | | (8) the need to improve cooperation among 4 |
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| 361 | 361 | | Federal, State, Tribal, local, and Mexican law en-5 |
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| 362 | 362 | | forcement entities to enhance security along the 6 |
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| 363 | 363 | | Southwest border; 7 |
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| 364 | 364 | | (9) the privacy implications of existing tech-8 |
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| 365 | 365 | | nology and the acquisition and deployment of new 9 |
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| 366 | 366 | | technologies and supporting infrastructure, with an 10 |
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| 367 | 367 | | emphasis on how privacy risks might be mitigated 11 |
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| 368 | 368 | | through the use of technology, training, and policy; 12 |
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| 369 | 369 | | (10) the impact of any ongoing public health 13 |
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| 370 | 370 | | emergency that impacts Department operations 14 |
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| 371 | 371 | | along the Southwest border; and 15 |
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| 372 | 372 | | (11) the ability of, and the needs for, the De-16 |
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| 373 | 373 | | partment to assist with search and rescue efforts for 17 |
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| 374 | 374 | | individuals or groups that may be in physical danger 18 |
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| 375 | 375 | | or in need of medical assistance. 19 |
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| 376 | 376 | | (e) F |
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| 377 | 377 | | ORM.—To the extent possible, the Secretary 20 |
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| 378 | 378 | | shall submit the technology needs analysis and updates re-21 |
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| 379 | 379 | | quired under this section in unclassified form, but may 22 |
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| 380 | 380 | | submit such documents, or portions of such documents, 23 |
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| 381 | 381 | | in classified form if the Secretary determines that such 24 |
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| 382 | 382 | | action is appropriate. 25 |
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| 386 | 386 | | (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 |
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| 387 | 387 | | (1) A |
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| 388 | 388 | | PPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -2 |
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| 389 | 389 | | TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-3 |
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| 390 | 390 | | mittees’’ means— 4 |
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| 391 | 391 | | (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 5 |
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| 392 | 392 | | and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 6 |
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| 393 | 393 | | (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 7 |
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| 394 | 394 | | of the House of Representatives. 8 |
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| 395 | 395 | | (2) D |
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| 396 | 396 | | EPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 9 |
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| 397 | 397 | | means the Department of Homeland Security. 10 |
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| 398 | 398 | | (3) S |
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| 399 | 399 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 |
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| 400 | 400 | | the Secretary of Homeland Security. 12 |
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| 401 | 401 | | (4) S |
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| 402 | 402 | | OUTHWEST BORDER .—The term ‘‘South-13 |
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| 403 | 403 | | west border’’ means the international land border 14 |
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| 404 | 404 | | between the United States and Mexico, including the 15 |
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| 405 | 405 | | ports of entry along such border. 16 |
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| 406 | 406 | | SEC. 6. REPORT RELATING TO HIRING PRACTICES OF THE 17 |
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| 407 | 407 | | DEPARTMENT FROM 2018 TO 2024. 18 |
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| 408 | 408 | | Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 19 |
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| 409 | 409 | | of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 20 |
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| 410 | 410 | | congressional committees a report relating the hiring prac-21 |
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| 411 | 411 | | tices of the Department that includes— 22 |
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| 412 | 412 | | (1) information relating to the recruitment 23 |
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| 413 | 413 | | practices of the Department from 2018 to 2024; and 24 |
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| 417 | 417 | | (2) recommendations with respect to improving 1 |
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| 418 | 418 | | the operational capacity of the Department work-2 |
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| 419 | 419 | | force. 3 |
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| 420 | 420 | | Æ |
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