Sponsors (2)
The bill directs federal grants to help state, tribal, and local governments modernize and make ports-of-entry more resilient—reducing local burdens on infrastructure and environment—while balancing fiscal safeguards, but it leaves localities to cover significant matching costs, constrains eligibility and local control, and depends on Congress to appropriate the funds.
State, tribal, and local governments and border communities can access federal grants to modernize transportation, utility, and land port infrastructure, improving cross‑border travel, trade efficiency, and reducing local congestion and delays.
Local governments and utilities may receive financial relief through reimbursement of eligible past expenditures (up to 70%) and reduced or waived matching requirements for rural or prioritized projects, lowering the local funding burden for disadvantaged areas.
Communities near ports can obtain funding for water and wastewater projects and for resilience and emergency‑preparedness upgrades, which can reduce pollution, improve public health, and boost readiness for disruptions at ports of entry.
Local governments, tribes, and utilities typically must provide a 30% non‑Federal match and reimbursements only cover up to 70% of past costs (with a requirement to seek reimbursement within a 'reasonable' time), creating budget pressure and leaving jurisdictions with potential unreimbursed expenses.
Eligibility rules and prioritization may exclude affected parties: private for‑profit developers and some utilities are ineligible, the 25‑mile radius and 100,000‑population rural threshold can leave impacted communities out, and tying priority to border‑security metrics can shift funds toward security objectives instead of local needs.
Centralizing program authority with the Secretary of Homeland Security and requiring multi‑agency consultation can limit local control, increase administrative complexity, and lengthen approval timelines for applicants.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DHS grant program to fund and supplement community infrastructure projects that support land ports of entry, with eligibility rules, matching requirements, and reimbursement authority.
Official title: To authorize the Land Port of Entry Community Infrastructure Program to address deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of land ports of entry, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 17, 2025 by Tony Gonzales · Last progress December 17, 2025
Provides the Department of Homeland Security authority to fund and supplement community infrastructure projects that support land ports of entry. It creates a grant program to help state, tribal, local governments and not-for-profit, member-owned utilities modernize or mitigate impacts from ports of entry, sets eligibility and matching rules, and authorizes DHS to receive appropriations to carry out the program. Grants may cover transportation, water, wastewater, telecommunications, electric/gas and other utility projects near ports of entry, with standardized project selection guidance, interagency consultation, and a default 30% non‑Federal match (with reductions or waivers for rural or homeland-security-advantageous projects). DHS may also reimburse prior eligible expenditures back to November 15, 2021, subject to appropriations.