I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7330 

To amend the Secure Fence Act of 2006 to authorize certain States to 

erect temporary protective fencing within 25 miles of the southwest 

border to deter unlawful immigration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2024 

Mr. GAETZ 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 determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Secure Fence Act of 2006 to authorize certain 

States to erect temporary protective fencing within 25 

miles of the southwest border to deter unlawful immigration, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State Border Security 

5 Act’’. 


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•HR 7330 IH

1 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF PROTECTIVE FENCING. 

2 Section 2 of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Public 

3 Law 109–367; 8 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

5 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION AGAINST REMOVING PROTECTIVE

9 FENCING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

11 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 

12 employee or agent of the Federal Government may 

13 execute or enforce any provision of the Immigration 

14 and Nationality Act by dismantling, removing, de15 stroying, or tampering with concertina wire, razor 

16 wire, barbed wire, or other protective fencing erected 

17 by a State government within 25 miles of the inter18 national border between the United States and Mex19 ico. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition described in 

21 paragraph (1) shall not apply in situations with re22 spect to which the Federal Government dem23 onstrates, by clear and convincing evidence, that the 

24 fencing referred to in such paragraph was erected by 

25 a State government with the intention of facilitating 


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•HR 7330 IH

1 unlawful immigration rather than deterring unlawful 

2 immigration. 

3 ‘‘(3) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Attorney Gen4 eral may seek injunctive relief in an appropriate 

5 Federal district court to order any State that has 

6 erected protective fencing intended to facilitate un7 lawful immigration to remove such fencing by meet8 ing the evidentiary standard described in paragraph 

9 (2).’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (c), as so redesignated— 

11 (A) by striking the heading and inserting 

12 ‘‘DEFINITIONS’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘In this section, the term 

14 ‘operational control’ means’’ and inserting the 

15 following: ‘‘In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—The term ‘oper17 ational control’ means’’; and 

18 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(2) PROTECTIVE FENCING.—The term ‘protec21 tive fencing’ means fencing that is reasonably cal22 culated to deter unlawful border crossings by aliens 

23 outside a port of entry.’’. 

Æ 


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