GENERAL PROVISIONS—THIS TITLE
Sec. 201. (a) The Secretary shall, by March 1, 2025, and quarterly thereafter, provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report describing changes in performance metrics and operational capabilities relating to border security, immigration enforcement, and immigration services, and the relationship of those changes to actual and projected encounters on the southwest border.(b) The report required by subsection (a) shall also include an analytic assessment of how policy changes and resources provided in this title of this Act impact efficiencies and resource needs for—
(1) other programs within the Department; and
(2) other Federal Departments and agencies.Sec. 202. (a) Amounts made available in this Act under the heading “U.S. Customs and Border Protection—Procurement, Construction, and Improvements” for acquisition and deployment of border security technology shall be available only as follows:
(1) $170,000,000 for the procurement and deployment of autonomous surveillance towers systems in locations that are not currently covered by such systems or technology, as defined in subsection (d);
(2) $47,500,000 for the procurement and deployment of mobile surveillance capabilities, including mobile video surveillance systems and for obsolete mobile surveillance equipment replacement, counter-UAS, and small unmanned aerial systems;
(3) $25,000,000 for subterranean detection capabilities;
(4) $7,500,000 for seamless integrated communications to extend connectivity for Border Patrol agents; and
(5) $10,000,000 for the acquisition of data from long duration unmanned surface vehicles in support of maritime border security.(b) None of the funds available under subsection (a)(1) shall be used for the procurement or deployment of border security technology that is not autonomous.(c) For the purposes of this section, “autonomous” and “autonomous surveillance tower systems” are defined as integrated software and/or hardware systems that utilize sensors, onboard computing, and artificial intelligence to identify items of interest that would otherwise be manually identified by personnel.(d) Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and monthly thereafter, U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate an expenditure plan for the use of the funds available under subsection (a)(1) and such expenditure plan shall include the following:
(1) the number and type of systems that will be procured;
(2) the U.S. Border Patrol sectors where each system will be deployed;
(3) a timeline for system deployments, including a timeline for securing necessary approvals and land rights;
(4) estimated annual sustainment costs for the systems; and
(5) other supporting information.Sec. 203. (a) Amounts made available in this Act under the heading “U.S. Customs and Border Protection—Procurement, Construction, and Improvements” for acquisition and deployment of non-intrusive inspection technology shall be available only through an open competition occurring after the date of enactment of this Act to acquire innovative technologies that improve performance, including through the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.(b) Beginning on March 1, 2025, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a quarterly update on the impacts of deployments of additional non-intrusive inspection technology on key performance metrics and operational capabilities and such expenditure plan shall include the following:
(1) the percentage of passenger and cargo vehicles scanned;
(2) the percentage of seizures of narcotics, currency, weapons, and ammunition, and other illicit items at inbound and outbound operations at ports of entry, checkpoints, and other locations as applicable; and
(3) the impact on U.S. Customs and Border Protection workforce requirements resulting from the deployment of additional non-intrusive inspection technology.Sec. 204. (a) Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary for Management at the Department of Homeland Security shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate an expenditure and hiring plan for amounts made available in this title of this Act.(b) The plan required in subsection (a) shall not apply to funds made available in this Act under the heading “Federal Emergency Management Agency—Federal Assistance” or to funds transferred by this Act to such heading.(c) The plan required in subsection (a) shall be updated and submitted to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate every 30 days and no later than the 5th day of each month to reflect changes to the plan and expenditures of funds until all funds made available in this title of this Act are expended or have expired.(d) None of the funds made available in this title of this Act may be obligated prior to the submission of such plan.Sec. 205. The remaining unobligated balances, as of the date of enactment of this Act, from amounts made available under the heading “U.S. Customs and Border Protection—Procurement, Construction, and Improvements” in division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–93) and described in section 209(a)(1) of such division of that Act and division F of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) and described in section 210 of such division of that Act are hereby rescinded, and an amount of additional new budget authority equivalent to the amount rescinded pursuant to this section is hereby appropriated, for an additional amount for fiscal year 2024, to remain available until September 30, 2028, and shall be available for the same purposes and under the same authorities and conditions for which such amounts were originally provided in such Acts: Provided, That none of the funds allocated for pedestrian physical barriers pursuant to this section may be made available for any purpose other than the construction of steel bollard pedestrian barrier built at least 18 to 30 feet in effective height and augmented with anti-climb and anti-dig features: Provided further, That for purposes of this section, the term “effective height” refers to the height above the level of the adjacent terrain features: Provided further, That none of the funds allocated for pedestrian physical barriers pursuant to this section may be made available for any purpose other than construction of pedestrian barriers consistent with the description in the first proviso at locations identified in the Border Security Improvement Plan submitted to Congress on August 1, 2020: Provided further, That the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may reprioritize the construction of physical barriers outlined in the Border Security Improvement Plan and, with prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate, add additional miles of pedestrian physical barriers where no such barriers exist, prioritized by operational requirements developed in coordination with U.S. Border Patrol leadership: Provided further, That within 180 days of the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate detailing how the funds will be used, by sector, to include the number of miles to be built: Provided further, That none of the funds made available pursuant to this section shall be available for obligation until the Secretary submits the report detailed in the preceding proviso.Sec. 206. (a) Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and monthly thereafter, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (in this section, referred to as the “Director”) shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate data detailing the number of weekly removal flights conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the cost per flight, the number of individuals by nationality on each flight, the average length of time by nationality between when the individual was removed and when the individual’s final order of removal was issued, and the number of empty seats on each flight.(b) The Director shall also provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate data detailing the number of voluntary repatriations coordinated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the costs associated with each repatriation, the number of individuals by nationality, the average length of time by nationality between when the individual was removed and when the individual’s final order of removal was issued, and the number of individuals that have opted into this program still awaiting repatriation.Sec. 207. (a) Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act and weekly thereafter, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (in this section referred to as the “Director”) shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a plan to increase custodial detention capacity using the funds provided for such purpose in this title of this Act, until such funds are expended.(b) The plan required by subsection (a) shall also include data on all detention capacity to which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has access but cannot use, the reason that the capacity cannot be used, and a course of action for mitigating utilization issues.(c) The Director shall provide notice to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the plan required by subsection (a) of any planned facility acquisitions, cost data, utilization rates, increase of average daily population, and notice of any termination or reduction of a contract for detention space, whether such actions are funded by this Act or any other Act for this or prior fiscal years.(d) The Director shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate not less than 30 days prior to the planned date of a contract termination or implementation of a reduction in detention capacity.Sec. 208. None of the funds provided in this title of this Act for “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—Operations Support” may be used for community-based residential facilities.Sec. 209. (a) Prior to the Secretary of Homeland Security (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”) requesting assistance from the Department of Defense for border security operations, the Secretary shall ensure that an alternatives analysis and cost-benefit analysis is conducted that includes data on the cost effectiveness of obtaining such assistance from the Department of Defense in lieu of other options.(b) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate, a report detailing the types of support sought by the Secretary in any request for assistance from the Department of Defense for border security operations and the operational impact of such request on Department of Homeland Security operations within 30 days of the date of enactment of this Act and quarterly thereafter.(c) The Secretary shall include with the data requested in subsection (b) the results of the alternatives analysis and cost-benefit analysis required under subsection (a).Sec. 210. Eligibility for funding made available by this title of this Act for transfer from “U.S. Customs and Border Protection—Operations and Support” to “Federal Emergency Management Agency—Federal Assistance” for the Shelter and Services Program shall not be limited to entities that previously received or applied for funding for the Shelter and Services Program or the Emergency Food and Shelter-Humanitarian program.Sec. 211. Of the total amount provided under the heading “U.S. Customs and Border Protection—Operations and Support” in this title of this Act for transfer to “Federal Emergency Management Agency—Federal Assistance” for the Shelter and Services Program—
(1) not more than $500,000,000 shall be available for transfer immediately upon enactment of this Act;
(2) an additional $188,000,000 shall be available for transfer upon submission of a written certification by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has—
(A) the ability to detain 46,500 individuals and has increased the total number of Enforcement and Removal Operations deportation officers by 200 above the current on board levels as of the date of enactment of this Act;
(B) increased the total number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers by 200 above the current on board levels as of the date of enactment of this Act; and
(C) increased the total number of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services asylum officers by 800 above the current on board levels as of the date of enactment of this Act; and
(3) an additional $62,000,000 shall be available for transfer upon submission of a written certification by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has—
(A) conducted a total of 1,500 removal flights since the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) ensured that at least 75 percent of Border Patrol agents assigned to duty along the southwest land border have been trained on the procedures included in sections 235B and 244B of the Immigration and Nationality Act.