Keeping Our Agents on the Line Act

Summary

Prohibits U.S. Border Patrol personnel from exercising interior arrest and search authorities beyond a 25-mile “reasonable distance” from any U.S. land border or territorial sea, except in narrow emergency or major-disaster circumstances. Requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect, validate, and publicly report detailed data on checkpoint encounters, interior agents operating in the interior, those agents’ Fourth Amendment training, and the disposition of each interior interaction with U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and noncitizens, with specific reporting deadlines tied to enactment.

• Bars U.S. Border Patrol personnel from using INA 287 authorities beyond 25 miles of a land border or territorial sea, defining that distance as the statutory limit.
• Includes employees, contractors, and detailees under the definition of Border Patrol personnel covered by the limit.
• Allows two exceptions to the 25-mile limit: a lawful state/local emergency request involving imminent danger to life, or a Presidential major disaster declaration.
• Requires CBP to publicly report checkpoint encounter totals by citizenship status and to develop feasibility milestones for a checkpoint performance model within 90 days.
• Requires CBP to report within 30 days the count of interior agents, their Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure training, and the disposition of each interior interaction.
• Mandates internal controls at CBP to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness of checkpoint performance data.
• Does not authorize new spending or change immigration statutes beyond limiting where Border Patrol may exercise certain authorities.
• Focuses transparency and accountability by making agent-level interior activity and training information publicly available.