Sponsor
Lindsey O. Graham
Senator · R-SC
Senator · R-SC
The bill significantly increases multi‑year funding and operational capacity for federal border and immigration enforcement—improving staffing, investigations, and detection—while concentrating enforcement power and surveillance that raises costs, privacy concerns, and heightened risks of arrest and strained local–community relations for immigrants.
Federal border and immigration workforce (CBP, ICE, HSI and related staff) receive large, multi-year appropriations (tens of billions through FY2029) to hire, operate, and equip personnel, increasing staffing and enforcement/processing capacity at the border.
Law enforcement investigators and forensic teams receive a targeted $108.5 million to hire child exploitation investigators and forensics analysts, improving capacity to investigate child-abuse and exploitation cases and identify victims.
Border-screening and detection capabilities are upgraded through funding for biometric entry/exit activities, non‑intrusive inspection systems, air/marine platforms, and other surveillance technologies, which can strengthen threat detection and screening at ports of entry and along approaches.
Immigrant communities face substantially higher risk of arrest, detention, and deportation as the bill channels large new enforcement resources to CBP, ICE, HSI, and targeted arrest/transport operations.
Taxpayers bear tens of billions in new spending for FY2026–FY2029, increasing fiscal outlays that could crowd out other domestic priorities or add to deficit pressure.
Expanded use of local enforcement (287(g)) and funding tied to arrests in noncooperating jurisdictions risks eroding trust between police and immigrant communities, chilling community policing and reducing public safety cooperation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Provides large FY2026 appropriations to DHS for border security and immigration enforcement, with multi-year availability and restrictions on certain hires and surveillance deployments.
Provides FY2026 appropriations and spending rules for Department of Homeland Security components that carry out border security and immigration enforcement. It splits funding between non-immigration/customs mission activities and immigration enforcement activities, sets multi-year availability through Sept 30, 2029, designates specific dollar amounts for CBP and ICE programs, and imposes restrictions on certain uses (for example, limits on recruitment of processing coordinators, restrictions on untested autonomous surveillance towers, and targeted funds for child exploitation investigators). The bill defines limited-purpose uses, directs funds for hiring, pay, training, equipment, technology, operations and maintenance, and earmarks a specified ICE amount for arrests of certain non-cooperating jurisdictions' unlawful aliens while restricting use of that pot for community release facilitation beyond existing law.
Official title: Secure America Act
Introduced May 20, 2026 by Lindsey O. Graham · Last progress June 10, 2026