Secure America Act
This bill provides tens of billions of dollars in new funding for border security and immigration enforcement through September 2029. The money will be used to hire more Border Patrol agents, immigration officers, and specialized child exploitation investigators, while blocking funds for processing coordinators after October 2028. It also funds advanced border surveillance tools, artificial intelligence to stop drug trafficking, and transportation for deportations.
The provisions, in plain language.
Appropriates $9.55 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection through fiscal year 2029 to hire, pay, train, and equip Border Patrol agents and support staff for non-enforcement and non-customs duties, but prohibits using these funds to hire or train processing coordinators after October 31, 2028.
Appropriates $3.45 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection through fiscal year 2029 for border surveillance tech, air and marine response capabilities, drug trafficking deterrence, a biometric entry-exit system, and non-enforcement operations, while banning the purchase of surveillance towers that lack tested autonomous capabilities.
Appropriates $13.02 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection through fiscal year 2029 to hire, pay, train, and equip personnel to carry out immigration enforcement activities.
Appropriates $31.075 billion to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through fiscal year 2029 for personnel, deportations, information technology, facility and fleet maintenance, local law cooperation agreements, and legal staff for immigration enforcement hearings.
Earmarks at least $350 million within the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget to arrest, transfer, and monitor unlawful adult criminal suspects or convicts who are held in local jurisdictions that do not cooperatively report or transfer undocumented immigrants to federal custody.
Appropriates $7.45 billion to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through fiscal year 2029 for Homeland Security Investigations' non-enforcement and non-customs support, including $108.5 million to hire child exploitation investigators and forensics analysts and train local law enforcement to rescue child abuse victims.
Appropriates $2.5 billion to the Secretary of Homeland Security through fiscal year 2029 to support secure border operations.
Appropriates $2.5 billion to the Secretary of Homeland Security through fiscal year 2029 to carry out border security, enforcement, or previously authorized DHS duties.
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionReceives $9.55 billion to hire, pay, train, and equip Border Patrol agents and support staff for non-enforcement duties (Section 3(a)), $3.45 billion for border surveillance technology, air and marine response, and drug trafficking deterrence (Section 5(a)), and $13.02 billion to hire, pay, train, and equip personnel for immigration enforcement activities (Section 7).
- U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementReceives $7.45 billion for Homeland Security Investigations' non-enforcement support, including $108.5 million for child exploitation investigators and forensics analysts (Section 4), and $31.075 billion for personnel, deportations, IT, facility maintenance, and legal staff for enforcement hearings (Section 8(a)).
- Department of Homeland SecurityReceives $2.5 billion under Section 6 and another $2.5 billion under Section 9 to support secure border operations, security, enforcement, or previously authorized duties.
- State and local law enforcement agenciesReceives training from Homeland Security Investigations to help identify and rescue victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse (Section 4).
- Victims of child sexual exploitation and abuseReceives $108.5 million in dedicated funding to support their identification and rescue from abuse (Section 4).
Who it burdens
- Undocumented immigrants and unlawful aliensSubject to increased enforcement, arrest, detention, and deportation funded by $13.02 billion for CBP enforcement (Section 7), $31.075 billion for ICE enforcement and removal operations (Section 8(a)), and a $350 million earmark targeting adult criminal suspects or convicts in non-cooperating jurisdictions (Section 8(b)).
- Non-cooperating state and local jurisdictionsTargeted by a $350 million ICE earmark for detainer management, arrest, and transfer of adult criminal suspects or convicts if the local jurisdiction does not cooperatively report or transfer them to federal custody (Section 8(b)).
Who backs it
- U.S. taxpayersAll appropriations in this bill are funded out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated (Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9).
Who opposes it
- Border Patrol processing coordinatorsProhibited from being hired or trained using the $9.55 billion appropriation after October 31, 2028 (Section 3(b)).
- Manufacturers of non-autonomous surveillance towersBanned from being purchased or deployed along the borders using the Section 5(a) funds if they have not been tested and accepted to deliver autonomous capabilities (Section 5(c)).