Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act

This bill tells the Department of Homeland Security to create a plan to test and use new, safe technologies to help Customs and Border Protection (CBP) do its job at the border and at ports of entry. The plan is due within 180 days and must explain what technologies to try, how they’ll be tested, how to scale up what works, and how to measure results. It must also look at costs, and how to protect people’s privacy, civil rights, and safety when using these tools . Before rolling out any new tech widely, DHS has to weigh costs and benefits to show it will clearly improve border security .

The bill authorizes special CBP “Innovation Teams” to find and adapt useful tools—like improved cameras and sensors, drones and counter‑drone systems, tunnel detection, nonintrusive inspection tools, and better radios and communications. These teams must follow responsible AI policies, set clear goals and timelines, and report each year on what they tested, what worked, and how it’s being put into regular use . The plan must also show how CBP will work with DHS science and technology offices, privacy and civil rights officials, and others, and how it will learn from technologies already used in other parts of the government and the private sector .

• Who is affected: CBP, people who live near the border or travel through ports of entry, and travelers whose data or images might be collected by new tools .
• What changes: DHS must deliver a detailed technology plan; CBP can run innovation teams; annual public‑facing reporting to Congress; cost‑benefit checks and privacy/civil rights safeguards before big deployments .
• When: The plan is due within 180 days of the law taking effect, with yearly updates on testing and deployment after that .