H.R. 4765 — Securing our Border Act

This section states 13 congressional findings on U.S. border security, including 105,007 estimated drug overdose deaths in 2023; low scanning rates of 2% for passenger vehicles and 20% for commercial vehicles at southern border ports of entry; over 1 million passengers and pedestrians processed and 2.1 million encounters in FY2024; 241,000 pounds of illicit drugs seized in FY2023 and 275,000 pounds in FY2024; 750 migrant deaths in FY2022; a 3.6 million case immigration court backlog as of September 30, 2024; 2,371 potential terrorist encounters since FY2019; a need for 2,700 additional CBP officers at ports of entry; and reliance on obsolete technology in southern Border Patrol sectors.

This section transfers one-third of the unobligated balances, as of enactment, from amounts made available under section 10301(1)(A)(ii) of P.L. 117-169 to U.S. Customs and Border Protection through February 6, 2034, for nonintrusive inspection systems (i.e., technologies such as X-ray scanners that inspect vehicles and cargo without physical opening). The transfer supports achieving a 100 percent nonintrusive inspection scanning rate at all northern border and southwest border land ports of entry by February 6, 2034.

This section transfers two-thirds of the unobligated balances as of enactment from amounts made available under section 10301(1)(A)(ii) of P.L. 117-169 to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during the period from enactment through February 6, 2034, for construction of a border wall system along the southwest U.S. border. The DHS Secretary must submit quarterly reports to the Senate Committees on Appropriations, Finance, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committees on Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Homeland Security containing (1) an implementation plan with benchmarks related to stemming illegal immigration and (2) cost estimates associated with border wall system construction.

This section authorizes the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with Secretary of Homeland Security approval, to provide bonuses to CBP agents as follows: (1) recruitment bonuses of up to $15,000 to newly hired CBP agents after completing basic training and executing a written service agreement; (2) annual retention bonuses of up to 15% of basic pay to Border Patrol agents (i.e., CBP agents who patrol U.S. borders) after each year of satisfactory service; and (3) relocation bonuses of up to 15% of annual basic pay to CBP agents who transfer to a new duty station for at least three years. Bonuses under these authorities are excluded from basic pay for all purposes, including retirement contributions and lump-sum annual leave payments.

This section requires DHS, for aliens subject to expedited removal who arrive from contiguous territory (i.e., Mexico or Canada), to either (1) return the alien to such territory or a safe third country (as described in INA §208) pending removal proceedings under INA §240, or (2) detain the alien for further consideration of an asylum application, including a credible fear determination (previously, DHS could return such aliens to contiguous territory).