Border security legislation expected to be taken up by the House this week that prescribes specific technology solutions on a sector-by-sector basis along the nation’s southern border, requires the establishment of biometric exit systems at the busiest ports of entry within two years, and directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to have operational control over some parts of the southwest border in two years won’t work, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement Thursday night.
“The bill is extreme to the point of being unworkable,” Johnson said. “If enacted, it would actually leave the border less secure.” He added that the Border Patrol believes the prescriptions in the bill are “impossible to achieve, undermines the Department of Homeland Security’s capacity to adapt to emerging threats, and politicizes tactical decisions.”
The Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015 (H.R. 399) passed the House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday night on an 18-12 vote with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. Depending on the particular border sector, the legislation requires the deployment of a specific mix of technologies. For example, in the Big Bend sector in Texas, it calls for tower-based surveillance technology, deployable, lighter than air ground surveillance equipment—which are aerostats—ultralight aircraft detection capabilities, improved agent communications capabilities, and advanced unattended surveillance sensors.
The bill also includes technology prescriptions for different maritime domains such as the Caribbean and Gulf, and Eastern Pacific, with systems such as coastal surveillance radar, increased maritime signals intelligence, aerostats, unmanned aerial vehicles, and increased patrol hours by aviation assets and Coast Guard cutters.
DHS is the only federal department without an approved budget for FY ’15, and instead is operating under a continuing resolution because congressional Republicans are upset with President Barack Obama’s executive actions following the mid-term elections to impose changes to immigration policies such as prioritizing the deportation of illegal immigrants who are felons as opposed to families and expanding a program that allows illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to remain in the country temporarily.
Johnson said the border bill is misguided because it doesn’t provide his department with what it needs most, “appropriated funding to pay for vital homeland security initiatives,” which limits it from deploying resources as needed. The initiatives Johnson is referring to include “both the additional resources we put on the border last year, and the additional technology, equipment and other resource we need from Congress to further secure the border.”
In the Senate several Republicans have introduced a companion bill to the House bill that also prescribes specific technology solutions for border security, and includes the biometric exit system, and requirements for operational control of the border. However, unlike in the House where Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the author of H.R. 399 went straight to a markup of the legislation without holding hearings, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said he plans to host hearings on border security.
DHS Chief Johnson also called on Congress to support his department’s workforce “without provisions that would micromanage their work or restrict their flexibility in dealing with the nation’s critical homeland security efforts.”
The House version of the bill would authorize $10 billion over 10 years to carry out various legislative provisions while the Senate bill provides $6 billion over six years.