Sponsors (4)
The bill strengthens DHS information sharing and accountability to improve detection and interdiction of illicit fentanyl, but raises privacy and civil‑liberties risks and adds administrative burdens with a risk of perverse incentives from metrics.
DHS components (CBP, ICE, Coast Guard, TSA, etc.) and law enforcement will share fentanyl-related data more routinely, improving coordination to detect and seize illicit fentanyl.
Law enforcement and DHS managers will have identified technical, legal, and procedural barriers to information sharing, enabling targeted fixes that speed investigations and interdictions across agencies.
Federal DHS components and oversight bodies will use new performance metrics to create clearer accountability and measurable progress in combating illicit fentanyl.
Individuals whose information is collected could face greater privacy and civil‑liberties risks if personally identifiable information is shared across DHS without sufficient safeguards.
Law enforcement agencies could be incentivized to prioritize counting seizures over conducting more effective, long‑term investigations, encouraging short‑term metrics gaming rather than disruption of trafficking networks.
Federal DHS components and law enforcement will incur additional administrative costs and workload to create and maintain new data‑sharing processes and performance metrics, which could divert resources from field operations.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires DHS to improve internal data sharing, identify barriers, and set performance metrics for detecting, deterring, and seizing illicit fentanyl within one year.
Requires the Department of Homeland Security to improve internal information sharing and measurement of efforts to detect, deter, and seize illicit fentanyl. The Secretary must direct DHS components to collaborate, identify barriers to sharing relevant data, and adopt performance metrics aligned with DHS strategic goals within one year of enactment. The law focuses on better coordination and measurement inside DHS rather than creating new enforcement authorities or funding. It aims to make DHS reporting and program performance more consistent and comparable across components that work on fentanyl interdiction.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop performance metrics relating to the detection, deterrence, and seizure of illicit fentanyl, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 27, 2026 by James R. Walkinshaw · Last progress July 14, 2026