I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8275 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a public 

blockchain-based system to securely store and share data related to 

border security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2024 

Ms. MACE (for herself and Mr. DONALDS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish 

a public blockchain-based system to securely store and 

share data related to border security, 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 ‘‘Border Security and 

5 Blockchain Technology Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY FOR BORDER APPRE7 HENSIONS. 

8 (a) IMPLEMENTATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

3 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec4 tion shall select a public blockchain platform that 

5 meets the agency’s needs and requirements, as set 

6 forth in the agency’s budgets for fiscal year 2017– 

7 2021. 

8 (2) SMART CONTRACTS.—The Commissioner of 

9 U.S. Customs and Border Protection may develop 

10 smart contracts that may be used to securely store 

11 and share data related to border security. 

12 (3) INTEGRATION.—The Commissioner of U.S. 

13 Customs and Border Protection shall integrate exist14 ing systems, such as biometric data and travel docu15 ments, with the public blockchain platform selected 

16 under paragraph (1). 

17 (4) DATA VERIFICATION AND INTEGRITY.—The 

18 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec19 tion shall utilize blockchain technology to ensure the 

20 integrity and immutability of data related to border 

21 security operations, including biometric data, visa in22 formation, and customs documentation. 

23 (5) ENHANCED INTEROPERABILITY.—The Com24 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

25 shall facilitate secure and efficient data exchange 


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1 and interoperability between various Federal and 

2 international border control and immigration agen3 cies, leveraging blockchain’s decentralized nature to 

4 enhance collaboration without compromising data se5 curity. 

6 (6) DATA INPUT.—The platform shall be de7 signed to input data in real-time from all relevant 

8 Federal Government agencies, including U.S. Cus9 toms and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration 

10 and Customs Enforcement. 

11 (7) APPLICATIONS.—The public blockchain 

12 platform shall be utilized for the following applica13 tions to enhance border security operations: 

14 (A) DOCUMENTATION VERIFICATION.—The 

15 platform shall be utilized to securely verify the 

16 authenticity of travel and identity documents in 

17 real time, reducing fraud and streamlining the 

18 entry process. 

19 (B) SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY.—The plat20 form shall be utilized to improve the tracking 

21 and management of goods through customs, en22 hancing transparency and efficiency in trade 

23 and commerce. 

24 (C) PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.—The plat25 form shall be utilized to manage border control 


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1 personnel deployment and operations securely 

2 and efficiently. 

3 (D) REAL-TIME DATA SHARING.—The 

4 platform shall be utilized to enable secure and 

5 instant data sharing among border control 

6 agencies, law enforcement, and other relevant 

7 government entities to enhance situational 

8 awareness and response times. 

9 (8) OBJECTIVES.—The implementation of the 

10 public blockchain platform aims to achieve the fol11 lowing objectives: 

12 (A) ENHANCED SECURITY.—The platform 

13 shall trengthen the security of border oper14 ations by leveraging blockchain’s immutable 

15 and encrypted record-keeping capabilities. 

16 (B) IMPROVED EFFICIENCY.—The plat17 form shall streamline border control processes 

18 through faster verification procedures and re19 duced manual data entry. 

20 (C) INCREASED TRANSPARENCY.—The 

21 platform shall provide a transparent and tam22 per-proof system for the management and over23 sight of border security operations. 

24 (D) INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.—The 

25 platform shall facilitate a higher degree of colVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8275.IH H8275

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1 laboration and data sharing among Federal 

2 agencies involved in border security. 

3 (b) OVERSIGHT AND EVALUATION.—The Commis4 sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall estab5 lish a system for oversight and evaluation of the imple6 mentation of public blockchain technology in border secu7 rity, including the appointment of a project manager, reg8 ular reports to the relevant authorities and an independent 

9 evaluation of the project. 

10 (c) SECURITY.—The platform shall be designed to en11 sure the security and confidentiality of sensitive informa12 tion. 

13 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months 

15 after the selection of a public blockchain platform 

16 under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security shall submit to Congress a report on the 

18 implementation of the platform, including a descrip19 tion of the platform’s capabilities and any challenges 

20 encountered during implementation. 

21 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

22 after the submission of the report required under 

23 paragraph (1) and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

24 of Homeland Security shall submit to Congress a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8275.IH H8275

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1 port on the ongoing operation and maintenance of 

2 the platform. 

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) BLOCKCHAIN.—The term ‘‘blockchain’’ 

5 means a distributed ledger technology that uses 

6 cryptography to secure and validate transactions and 

7 data. 

8 (2) BORDER APPREHENSIONS.—The term ‘‘bor9 der apprehensions’’ means the arrest and detain10 ment of individuals by Federal law enforcement offi11 cials for immigration violations at or near the 

12 United States border. 

13 (3) BORDER CONTROL AGENCIES.—The term 

14 ‘‘border control agencies’’ means U.S. Customs and 

15 Border Protection and any other Government agen16 cies the Secretary of Homeland Security determines 

17 is involved in border security. 

18 (4) SMART CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘smart con19 tract’’ means a self-executing contract with the 

20 terms of the agreement written into lines of code. 

Æ 


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