Border Visibility and Security Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1707 To ensure operational control of the southwest border, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 9, 2021 Mr. ROY (for himself, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. BABIN, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. CRENSHAW, Ms. VAN DUYNE, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, and Mr. GOHMERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To ensure operational control of the southwest border, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Visibility and 4 Security Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1707 IH (1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis- 1 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 2 and Border Protection. 3 (2) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—The term ‘‘oper- 4 ational control’’ has the meaning given such term in 5 section 2(b) of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (8 6 U.S.C. 1701 note; Public Law 109–367). 7 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 8 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 9 (4) SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.—The term ‘‘sit- 10 uational awareness’’ has the meaning given such 11 term in section 1092(a)(7) of the National Defense 12 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 13 114–328). 14 SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BOR- 15 DER SECURITY TECHNOLOGY ALONG THE 16 SOUTHERN BORDER. 17 Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 18 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Pub- 19 lic Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1103 note) is amended— 20 (1) in subsection (a)— 21 (A) by inserting ‘‘and border technology’’ 22 before ‘‘in the vicinity of’’; and 23 (B) by striking ‘‘illegal crossings in areas 24 of high illegal entry into the United Sates’’ and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1707 IH inserting ‘‘, impede, and detect illegal activity 1 and entry into the United States’’; 2 (2) in subsection (b)— 3 (A) in the heading by striking ‘‘ROAD IM- 4 PROVEMENTS’’ and inserting ‘‘NAVIGABLE 5 ROADS’’; and 6 (B) by adding at the end the following new 7 paragraph: 8 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL NAVIGABLE ROADS ALONG 9 THE SOUTHWEST BORDER.— 10 ‘‘(A) NAVIGABLE ROAD DEFINED.—In this 11 subsection, the term ‘navigable road’ means a 12 contiguous, navigable road. 13 ‘‘(B) NAVIGABLE ROADS.—In carrying out 14 subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Se- 15 curity shall construct a navigable road along 16 not less than 700 miles of the southwest border 17 where most practical and effective to gain oper- 18 ational control of the southwest border. 19 ‘‘(C) PRIORITY AREAS.—In carrying out 20 this paragraph, the Secretary of Homeland Se- 21 curity shall— 22 ‘‘(i) identify the 700 miles, or other 23 mileage determined by the Secretary, along 24 the southwest border where a navigable 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1707 IH road would be most practical and effective 1 in deterring smugglers and aliens attempt- 2 ing to gain illegal entry into the United 3 States; and 4 ‘‘(ii) not later than December 31, 5 2021, complete construction of a navigable 6 road along the miles identified under 7 clause (i). 8 ‘‘(D) CONSULTATION.— 9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 10 this paragraph, the Secretary of Homeland 11 Security shall consult with the Secretary of 12 the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, 13 States, local governments, Indian Tribes, 14 and property owners in the United States 15 to minimize the impact on the environ- 16 ment, culture, commerce, and quality of 17 life for the communities and residents lo- 18 cated near the sites at which navigable 19 roads are to be constructed. 20 ‘‘(ii) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing 21 in this subparagraph may be construed 22 to— 23 ‘‘(I) create or negate any right of 24 action for a State, local government, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1707 IH Indian Tribe, or other person or enti- 1 ty affected by this subsection; or 2 ‘‘(II) affect the eminent domain 3 laws of the United States or of any 4 State.’’; 5 (3) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘and, pur- 6 suant to subsection (d), the installation, operation, 7 and maintenance of technology,’’ after ‘‘barriers and 8 roads’’; and 9 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub- 10 sections: 11 ‘‘(e) INSTALLATION, OPERATION, AND MAINTE- 12 NANCE OF TECHNOLOGY.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 20, 14 2022, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in car- 15 rying out subsection (a), shall deploy the most prac- 16 tical and effective technology available along the 17 United States border for achieving situational 18 awareness and operational control of the border. 19 ‘‘(2) TECHNOLOGY DEFINED.—In this subpara- 20 graph, the term ‘technology’ includes border surveil- 21 lance and detection technology, including— 22 ‘‘(A) radar surveillance systems; 23 ‘‘(B) Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation 24 Radars (VADER); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1707 IH ‘‘(C) 3-dimensional, seismic acoustic detec- 1 tion and ranging border tunneling detection 2 technology; 3 ‘‘(D) sensors; 4 ‘‘(E) unmanned cameras; 5 ‘‘(F) man-portable and mobile vehicle- 6 mounted unmanned aerial vehicles; and 7 ‘‘(G) any other devices, tools, or systems 8 found to be more effective or advanced than 9 those specified in subparagraphs (A) through 10 (F). 11 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘situa- 12 tional awareness’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 13 tion 1092(a)(7) of the National Defense Authorization Act 14 for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328).’’. 15 SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE SOUTHERN BORDER STRATEGY. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 17 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 18 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of 19 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 20 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen- 21 ate a comprehensive Southern border strategy. 22 (b) CONTENTS.—The strategy submitted under sub- 23 section (a) shall include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1707 IH (1) a list of known physical barriers, tech- 1 nologies, tools, and other devices that can be used to 2 achieve and maintain situational awareness and 3 operational control along the southern border; 4 (2) a projected per mile cost estimate for each 5 physical barrier, technology, tool, and other device 6 included on the list required under paragraph (1); 7 (3) a detailed account of which type of physical 8 barrier, technology, tool, or other device the Depart- 9 ment believes is necessary to achieve and maintain 10 situational awareness and operational control for 11 each linear mile of the southern border; 12 (4) an explanation for why such physical bar- 13 rier, technology, tool, or other device was chosen to 14 achieve and maintain situational awareness and 15 operational control for each linear mile of the south- 16 ern border, including— 17 (A) the methodology used to determine 18 which type of physical barrier, technology, tool, 19 or other device was chosen for such linear mile; 20 (B) an examination of existing manmade 21 and natural barriers for each linear mile of the 22 southern border; and 23 (C) the information collected and evaluated 24 from— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1707 IH (i) the appropriate U.S. Customs and 1 Border Protection Sector Chief; 2 (ii) the Joint Task Force Commander; 3 (iii) the appropriate State Governor; 4 (iv) local law enforcement officials; 5 (v) private property owners; and 6 (vi) other affected stakeholders; 7 (5) a per mile cost calculation for each linear 8 mile of the southern border given the type of phys- 9 ical barrier, technology, tool, or other device chosen 10 to achieve and maintain operational control for each 11 linear mile; and 12 (6) a cost justification for each time a more ex- 13 pensive physical barrier, technology, tool, or other 14 device is chosen over a less expensive option, as es- 15 tablished by the per mile cost estimates required in 16 paragraph (2). 17 SEC. 5. ERADICATION OF CANE ALONG THE RIO GRANDE 18 RIVER. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 20 rity shall take such actions as may be necessary, including 21 through cooperation with appropriate Federal and State 22 agencies, to permanently eradicate the cane, or Arundo 23 donax, that grows along the Rio Grande river. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1707 IH (b) PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—No 1 additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to 2 carry out this section. This section shall be carried out 3 using amounts otherwise authorized. 4 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 5 (a) USE OF CERTAIN FORFEITED CRIMINAL PRO- 6 CEEDS FOR BORDER SECURITY MEASURES.—Notwith- 7 standing any other provision of law, any illegally obtained 8 profits resulting from any criminal drug trafficking enter- 9 prise led by Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera (commonly 10 known as ‘‘El Chapo’’), which are criminally forfeited to 11 the United States Government as a result of the conviction 12 of Mr. Guzman Loera in Federal district court, shall be 13 reserved for security measures along the border between 14 the United States and Mexico, including to carry out this 15 Act and the amendments made by this Act, for the pur- 16 pose of furthering the Nation’s security. 17 (b) USE OF FORFEITED CRIMINAL PROCEEDS OF 18 OTHER CONVICTED CARTEL MEMBERS.—Notwith- 19 standing any other provision of law, any funds that are 20 criminally forfeited to the United States Government as 21 the result of a felony conviction in a Federal district court 22 of a member of a drug cartel—an individual engaging in 23 a continuing criminal enterprise involving knowingly and 24 intentionally distributing a controlled substance, intending 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1707 IH and knowing that such substance would be unlawfully im- 1 ported into the United States from a place outside of the 2 United States—shall be reserved for security measures 3 along the border between the United States and Mexico, 4 including to carry out this Act and the amendments made 5 by this Act, for the purpose of furthering the Nation’s se- 6 curity. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1707.IH H1707 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS