I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2076 

To provide for the establishment of a border protection strategy for the 

international land borders of the United States, to address the ecological 

and environmental impacts of border security infrastructure, measures, 

and activities along the international land borders of the United States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2009 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. BACA, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. REYES, Ms. LINDA T. 

SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. ORTIZ, and Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services and Agriculture, 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 provide for the establishment of a border protection strategy for the international land borders of the United 

States, to address the ecological and environmental impacts of border security infrastructure, measures, and 

activities along the international land borders of the 

United States, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Security and 

3 Responsibility Act 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purposes of this Act are to provide a means 

6 whereby Federal lands and resources along the United 

7 States-Mexico border are provided the highest protection 

8 possible from the effects of unauthorized immigration, 

9 human and drug smuggling, and border enforcement ac10 tivities, while ensuring that all operations necessary to 

11 achieve border security are undertaken. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (a) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the 

15 meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self16 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

17 450b). 

18 (b) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

19 Secretary of Homeland Security. 

20 (c) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Secretary 

21 concerned’’ means the Secretary of Agriculture with re22 spect to land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 

23 Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior with respect to 

24 land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, 

25 the Secretary of Defense with respect to land under the 

26 jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense or the secretary 


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1 of a military department, or the Secretary of Commerce 

2 with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 

3 of Commerce 

4 SEC. 4. BORDER PROTECTION STRATEGY. 

5 (a) BORDER PROTECTION STRATEGY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 

7 30, 2009, the Secretary, the Secretary of the Inte8 rior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

9 Defense, and the Secretary of Commerce, in con10 sultation with tribal, State, and local officials, shall 

11 jointly develop and submit to Congress a border pro12 tection strategy for the international land borders of 

13 the United States. 

14 (2) ELEMENTS OF THE STRATEGY.—The strat15 egy developed in accordance with paragraph (1) shall 

16 include the following components: 

17 (A) A comparative analysis of the levels of 

18 operational control, based on auditable and 

19 verifiable data, achievable through alternative 

20 tactical infrastructure and other security meas21 ures. Measures assessed shall include, at a min22 imum— 

23 (i) pedestrian fencing; 

24 (ii) vehicle barriers, especially in areas 

25 in the vicinity of existing or planned roads; 


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1 (iii) additional Border Patrol agents; 

2 (iv) efficacy of natural barriers and 

3 open space in response to unauthorized or 

4 unlawful border crossing; 

5 (v) fielding of advanced remote sens6 ing and information integration technology, 

7 including the use of unmanned aerial vehi8 cles and other advanced technologies and 

9 systems, including systems developed and 

10 employed, or under development, for tac11 tical surveillance, multi-source information 

12 integration, and response analysis in dif13 ficult terrain and under adverse environ14 mental conditions; 

15 (vi) regional as well as urban and 

16 rural variation in border security meth17 odologies, and incorporation of natural 

18 barriers; 

19 (vii) enhanced cooperation with, and 

20 assistance to, intelligence, security, and 

21 law enforcement agencies in Mexico and 

22 Canada in detecting, reporting, analyzing, 

23 and successfully responding to unauthor24 ized or unlawful border crossings from or 

25 into Mexico or Canada; and 


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1 (viii) removal of obstructive non-native 

2 vegetation. 

3 (B) A comprehensive analysis of cost and 

4 other impacts of security measures assessed in 

5 subparagraph (A), including an assessment 

6 of— 

7 (i) land acquisition costs, including re8 lated litigation and other costs; 

9 (ii) construction costs, including both 

10 labor and material costs; 

11 (iii) maintenance costs over 25 years; 

12 (iv) contractor costs; 

13 (v) management and overhead costs; 

14 (vi) the impacts on wildlife, wildlife 

15 habitat, natural communities, and func16 tioning cross-border wildlife migration cor17 ridors and hydrology (including water 

18 quantity, quality, and natural hydrologic 

19 flows) on Federal, tribal, State, local, and 

20 private lands along the border; 

21 (vii) costs of fully mitigating the ad22 verse impacts to Federal, tribal, State, 

23 local, and private lands, waters (including 

24 water quality, quantity, and hydrological 

25 flows), wildlife, and wildlife habitats, inVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:54 Apr 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2076.IH H2076

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1 cluding, where such action is possible, the 

2 full costs of the replacement or restoration 

3 of severed wildlife migration corridors with 

4 protected corridors of equivalent biological 

5 functionality, as determined by each Sec6 retary concerned, in consultation with ap7 propriate authorities of tribal, State, and 

8 local governments and appropriate authori9 ties of Mexico and Canada; and 

10 (viii) the impacts on culture, safety, 

11 and quality of life on residents in the vicin12 ity of the border. 

13 (C) A comprehensive compilation of the 

14 fiscal investments in acquiring or managing 

15 Federal, tribal, state, local, and private lands 

16 and waters in the vicinity of, or ecologically re17 lated to, the land borders of the United States 

18 that have been acquired or managed in whole or 

19 in part for conservation purposes (including the 

20 creation or management of protected wildlife 

21 migration corridors) in— 

22 (i) units of the National Park System; 

23 (ii) National Forest System land; 

24 (iii) land under the jurisdiction of the 

25 Bureau of Land Management; 


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1 (iv) land under the jurisdiction of the 

2 United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

3 (v) other relevant land under the ju4 risdiction of the Department of the Inte5 rior or the Department of Agriculture; 

6 (vi) land under the jurisdiction of the 

7 Department of Defense or the individual 

8 military department; 

9 (vii) land under the jurisdiction of the 

10 Department of Commerce; 

11 (viii) tribal lands; 

12 (ix) State and private lands; and 

13 (x) lands within Mexico and Canada. 

14 (D) Recommendations for strategic border 

15 security management based on comparative se16 curity as detailed in subparagraph (A), the 

17 cost-benefit analysis as detailed in subpara18 graph (B), as well as protection of investments 

19 in public lands specified in subparagraph (C). 

20 (3) TRAINING.— 

21 (A) REQUIRED TRAINING.—The Secretary, 

22 in cooperation with the Secretary concerned, 

23 shall provide— 

24 (i) natural resource protection train25 ing for Customs and Border Protection 


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1 agents or other Federal personnel assigned 

2 to plan or oversee the construction or oper3 ation of border security tactical infrastruc4 ture or to patrol land along or in the vicin5 ity of a land border of the United States; 

6 and 

7 (ii) cultural resource training for Cus8 toms and Border Protection agents and 

9 other Federal personnel assigned to plan 

10 or oversee the construction or operation of 

11 border security tactical infrastructure or to 

12 patrol tribal lands. 

13 (B) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In 

14 developing and providing training under clause 

15 (i) of subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall co16 ordinate with the Secretary concerned and the 

17 relevant tribal government to ensure that such 

18 training is appropriate to the mission of the rel19 evant agency and is focused on achieving border 

20 security objectives while avoiding or minimizing 

21 the adverse impact on natural and cultural re22 sources resulting from border security tactical 

23 infrastructure, operations, or other activities. 


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1 SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO GAIN OPERATIONAL CONTROL OF THE 

2 INTERNATIONAL LAND BORDERS OF THE 

3 UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Illegal Immi5 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

6 (Public Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1103 note) is amended 

7 to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 102. IMPROVEMENT OF OPERATIONAL CONTROL OF 

9 BORDER. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Se11 curity shall take such actions as may be required to gain 

12 operational control of the international land borders of the 

13 United States. Such actions may be taken only in accord14 ance with the border protection strategy developed under 

15 section 4(a) of the Border Security and Responsibility Act 

16 of 2009. 

17 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY OF METHODS.—In carrying out the 

18 requirements of subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security shall, where practicable, give first priority to the 

20 use of remote cameras, sensors, removal of non-native 

21 vegetation, incorporation of natural barriers, additional 

22 manpower, unmanned aerial vehicles, or other low impact 

23 border enforcement techniques. 

24 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec26 tion, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall conVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:54 Apr 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2076.IH H2076

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1 sult with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary 

2 of Agriculture, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary 

3 of Commerce, States, local governments, tribal gov4 ernments, and private property owners in the United 

5 States to minimize the impact on the environment, 

6 culture, commerce, safety, and quality of life for the 

7 communities and residents located near the sites at 

8 which actions under subsection (a) are proposed to 

9 be taken. 

10 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

11 this subsection may be construed to— 

12 ‘‘(A) create or negate any right of action 

13 for a State, local government, tribal govern14 ment, or other person or entity affected by this 

15 subsection; 

16 ‘‘(B) affect the eminent domain laws of the 

17 United States or of any State; or 

18 ‘‘(C) waive the application of any other ap19 plicable Federal, State, local, or tribal law. 

20 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON REQUIREMENTS.—Not21 withstanding subsection (a), nothing in this section 

22 shall require the Secretary of Homeland Security to 

23 install fencing, physical barriers, roads, lighting, 

24 cameras, or sensors in a particular location along an 

25 international border of the United States if the SecVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:54 Apr 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2076.IH H2076

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1 retary determines that the use or placement of such 

2 resources is not the most effective and appropriate 

3 means to achieve and maintain operational control 

4 over the international border at such location, or if 

5 the Secretary determines that the direct and indirect 

6 costs of or the impacts on the environment, culture, 

7 commerce, safety, or quality of life for the commu8 nities and residents along the border likely to result 

9 from the use or placement of such resources out10 weigh the benefits of such use or placement.’’. 

11 (b) PRECONDITIONS.—In fulfilling the requirements 

12 of section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Im13 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as amended by this 

14 section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall not com15 mence any construction of fencing, physical barriers, 

16 roads, lighting, cameras, sensors, or other tactical infra17 structure along or in the vicinity of an international land 

18 border of the United States, or award or expend funds 

19 pursuant to any contract or other agreement related there20 to, prior to 90 days following the submission to Congress 

21 of the border protection strategy required under section 

22 4(a) of this Act. 

23 SEC. 6. BORDERLANDS MONITORING AND MITIGATION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

25 with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of AgriVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:54 Apr 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2076.IH H2076

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1 culture, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Com2 merce, and the heads of appropriate State and tribal wild3 life agencies and entities, shall develop and implement a 

4 comprehensive monitoring and mitigation plan to address 

5 the ecological and environmental impacts of border secu6 rity infrastructure, measures, and activities along the 

7 international land borders of the United States. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The mitigation plan required 

9 under subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, meas10 ures to address and mitigate the full range of ecological 

11 and environmental impacts of border security infrastruc12 ture, measures, and activities, including— 

13 (1) preserving, maintaining, and, if necessary, 

14 restoring wildlife migration corridors, key habitats, 

15 and the ecologically functional connectivity between 

16 and among key habitats sufficient to ensure that 

17 species (whether or not designated as rare, pro18 tected, or of concern) remain viable and are able to 

19 adapt to the impacts of climate change; 

20 (2) addressing control of invasive species and 

21 implementing measures necessary to avoid the 

22 spread of such species; 

23 (3) maintaining hydrological functionality, in24 cluding water quantity and quality; 


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1 (4) incorporating adaptive management, includ2 ing detailed provisions for long-term monitoring of 

3 the mitigation plan’s effectiveness and for necessary 

4 adjustments to such plan based on such monitoring 

5 results; and 

6 (5) protection of cultural and historical re7 sources. 

8 (c) PREEMPTION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of law, the Secretary may, subject to para11 graph (2), carry out the mitigation plan required 

12 under subsection (a) on any Federal, State, local, 

13 tribal, or private lands in the vicinity of or eco14 logically related to an international land border of 

15 the United States regardless of which individual, 

16 agency, or entity has ownership of or principal re17 sponsibility for the management of any such lands. 

18 (2) CONDITIONS.—Activities carried out pursu19 ant to paragraph (1) in connection with the mitiga20 tion plan shall be carried out in full consultation 

21 with, and with the concurrence of, the owner of, or 

22 entity with principal responsibility for, the manage23 ment of the lands described in such paragraph. 

24 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Home2 land Security may transfer funds of the Department 

3 of Homeland Security to other Federal agencies 

4 for— 

5 (A) expenditure under programs (including 

6 any international programs) of such agencies 

7 that are designed to fund conservation related 

8 activities (directly or through grants or similar 

9 mechanisms) on non-Federal lands, including 

10 land acquisition programs; and 

11 (B) mitigation activities on Federal lands 

12 managed by such agencies, if such activities are 

13 required to implement the mitigation plan re14 quired under subsection (a) and if the costs of 

15 such activities are higher than the costs associ16 ated with managing such lands in the absence 

17 of such activities. 

18 (2) EXEMPTION FROM REPROGRAMMING RE19 QUIREMENTS.—Funds transferred pursuant to the 

20 authorization under paragraph (1) shall not be sub21 ject to reprogramming requirements. 

22 (3) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.— 

23 The Secretary may accept and use donations for the 

24 purpose of developing and implementing the mitiga25 tion plan required under subsection (a), and may 


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1 transfer such funds to any other Federal agency for 

2 expenditure under such plan pursuant to paragraph 

3 (1). 

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Notwith5 standing any other provision of law, funds appropriated 

6 to the Department of Homeland Security for border secu7 rity infrastructure and activities may be used by the Sec8 retary to develop and implement the mitigation plan re9 quired under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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