Sponsors (11)
The bill makes it easier and faster for states and CBP to deploy and extend temporary border infrastructure, improving operational flexibility for border security but reducing federal environmental and land‑management oversight, risking tribal interests, and increasing local disruption and interagency coordination/liability challenges.
State governments and CBP can deploy temporary border infrastructure on adjacent Federal land more quickly and keep it in place longer (45 days' notice instead of special-use permits; up to 1-year deployments with possible 90-day extensions), increasing operational flexibility for border security.
Delegating extension decisions to the relevant Secretary with required CBP consultation streamlines interagency approvals and can speed operational decision-making for temporary border measures.
Tribal and Indigenous communities (especially where BIA-managed lands border the U.S. boundary) could be bypassed, risking impacts to tribal lands, resources, and tribal sovereignty/consultation processes.
Federal land managers lose permitting authority over affected Federal lands, reducing environmental and land‑use oversight and increasing the risk of environmental harm or degraded resource protection near the border.
Taxpayers and local residents may face prolonged temporary deployments and extended disruption (and potential local costs) if CBP determines operational control hasn't been achieved, with limited public review.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Permits border states to place temporary movable structures on adjacent federal land without a special-use authorization after 45 days' notice; initial 1-year placement with 90-day extensions subject to CBP consultation.
Allows a State that borders Canada or Mexico to place movable, temporary structures on adjacent Federal land without needing a special-use authorization, provided the State gives the relevant federal Secretary at least 45 days’ notice. Initial placement is limited to one year and may be extended in 90-day increments by the Secretary after consultation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection; extensions must be approved if CBP determines operational control has not been achieved. Defines which federal officials are the "Secretary concerned" for different land management agencies and ties extensions to CBP operational control determinations, while preserving a short notice-and-approval process instead of the usual special-use authorization requirement.
Introduced January 21, 2025 by Marsha Blackburn · Last progress January 21, 2025