Sponsors (4)
The bill provides modest, sustained funding and personnel to strengthen U.S.–Pacific law enforcement cooperation and regional resilience, trading a relatively small federal cost and reallocation of HSI resources for improved security capacity—while risking coordination problems, local diplomatic concerns, and diversion of domestic personnel.
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Pacific Island law-enforcement partners receive sustained funding ($5M/year) to strengthen regional cooperation and counter transnational crime.
Pacific Island governments and police receive training and technical assistance to build investigative and justice-sector capacity against transnational criminal organizations.
Forward-deployed U.S. personnel working with Pacific partners enable faster crisis response and closer operational cooperation for investigations.
Taxpayers bear ongoing costs of $5M per year (about $40M over eight years), funds that could otherwise be used for domestic priorities.
Allocating at least four full-time equivalents to Pacific-focused work risks diverting HSI personnel and attention from domestic priorities or other regions.
Deploying U.S. law enforcement and resources overseas may be perceived by some Pacific Island communities as foreign influence, risking diplomatic friction and undermining local trust.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates an HSI Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative with dedicated staff, annual reporting, and $5M/year authorized for FY2027–2034 to strengthen regional law-enforcement cooperation and resilience.
Official title: To require Homeland Security Investigations to establish the Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative to strengthen the United States strategic partnerships and ability to combat transnational criminal organizations in the Pacific region, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 29, 2026 by Ed Case · Last progress June 29, 2026
Creates a Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to expand U.S. investigative presence and cooperation in the Pacific Islands region. HSI Honolulu will lead the effort, working with HSI Guam, HSI Attaché Canberra, HSI International Operations, and other offices to conduct visits, joint operations, training, technical assistance, and capacity building aimed at countering malign influence and strengthening regional infrastructure and technology resilience. The law requires at least four full-time staff (two in Honolulu, two in Guam) supervised by an Assistant Special Agent in Charge, annual reporting on activities and spending, and authorizes $5 million per year for each fiscal year 2027–2034 to carry out the initiative. The initiative must be established within 180 days of enactment and produce an initial report within one year of establishment, with subsequent annual reports.