I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3273 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish programs to 

combat transnational criminal organizations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2019 

Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 

programs to combat transnational criminal organizations, 

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 ‘‘Combating 

5 Transnational Criminal Organizations Act of 2019’’ or the 

6 ‘‘Combating TCOs Act of 2019’’. 

7 SEC. 2. INTEGRATED BORDER ENFORCEMENT TEAMS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title IV of the 

9 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 3273 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 437. INTEGRATED BORDER ENFORCEMENT TEAMS. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

3 the Department a program to be known as the Integrated 

4 Border Enforcement Team program (referred to in this 

5 section as ‘IBET’). 

6 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of IBET is to enhance 

7 border security in a manner that results in a cooperative 

8 approach between the United States and Canada to— 

9 ‘‘(1) strengthen security between designated 

10 ports of entry; 

11 ‘‘(2) detect, investigate, prevent, and respond to 

12 terrorism, transnational criminal organizations, and 

13 other violations of law related to border security; 

14 ‘‘(3) facilitate collaboration among components 

15 and offices within the Department and international 

16 partners; 

17 ‘‘(4) execute coordinated activities in further18 ance of border security and homeland security; and 

19 ‘‘(5) enhance information-sharing, including the 

20 dissemination of homeland security information 

21 among such components and offices. 

22 ‘‘(c) COMPOSITION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF

23 UNITS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—IBET units may be com25 prised of personnel from the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 3273 IH

1 ‘‘(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

2 led by the U.S. Border Patrol. 

3 ‘‘(B) U.S. Immigration and Customs En4 forcement, led by Homeland Security Investiga5 tions. 

6 ‘‘(C) Other Department personnel, as ap7 propriate. 

8 ‘‘(D) Other Federal, State, local, Tribal, 

9 and foreign law enforcement agencies, as appro10 priate. 

11 ‘‘(E) Other appropriate personnel at the 

12 discretion of the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITS.—The Sec14 retary is authorized to establish IBET units in re15 gions in which such units can contribute to IBET 

16 missions, as appropriate. When establishing an 

17 IBET unit, the Secretary shall apply risk-based cri18 teria that takes into consideration the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) Whether the region in which the 

20 IBET unit would be established is significantly 

21 impacted by cross-border threats, including 

22 threats posed by transnational criminal organi23 zations and terrorist groups. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 3273 IH

1 ‘‘(B) The availability of Federal, State, 

2 local, Tribal, and foreign law enforcement re3 sources to participate in the IBET unit. 

4 ‘‘(C) Whether, in accordance with para5 graph (3), other joint cross-border initiatives al6 ready take place within the region in which the 

7 IBET unit would be established. 

8 ‘‘(3) DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS.—In deter9 mining whether to establish a new IBET unit or to 

10 expand an existing IBET unit in a given region, the 

11 Secretary shall ensure that the IBET unit under 

12 consideration does not duplicate the efforts of other 

13 existing interagency task forces or centers within 

14 such region, including the Border Enforcement Se15 curity Task Force established under section 432. 

16 ‘‘(d) OPERATION.—After determining the regions in 

17 which to establish IBET units under subsection (c)(2), the 

18 Secretary may— 

19 ‘‘(1) direct the assignment of Federal personnel 

20 to such IBET units; 

21 ‘‘(2) take other actions to assist Federal, State, 

22 local, and Tribal entities to participate in such 

23 IBET units, including providing financial assistance, 

24 as appropriate, for operational, administrative, and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 3273 IH

1 technological costs associated with such participa2 tion; 

3 ‘‘(3) direct the development of policy and guid4 ance necessary to identify, assess, and integrate the 

5 available partner resources in relevant border sector 

6 security assessments and resource planning docu7 ments; 

8 ‘‘(4) establish targets and performance meas9 ures for such IBET units; and 

10 ‘‘(5) direct leadership of such IBET units to 

11 monitor progress on such targets and performance 

12 measures. 

13 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate 

14 IBET activities with other similar border security and 

15 antiterrorism programs within the Department in accord16 ance with the strategic objectives of the Cross-Border Law 

17 Enforcement Advisory Committee. 

18 ‘‘(f) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec19 retary may enter into memoranda of understanding with 

20 appropriate representatives of the entities specified in sub21 section (c)(1) as necessary to carry out this section. Such 

22 memoranda with entities specified in subsection (c)(1)(G) 

23 shall be entered into with the concurrence of the Secretary 

24 of State. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 3273 IH

1 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

2 date on which IBET is established and biannually there3 after for the following six years, the Secretary shall submit 

4 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

5 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

6 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that— 

7 ‘‘(1) describes targets and performance meas8 ures for IBET units; 

9 ‘‘(2) describes the effectiveness of IBET units 

10 in fulfilling the purposes specified in subsection (b); 

11 ‘‘(3) identifies and assesses the impact of cer12 tain challenges on the sustainment of cross-border 

13 IBET operations, including challenges faced by 

14 international partners, and planned corrective ac15 tions; 

16 ‘‘(4) identifies and assesses costs associated 

17 with IBET units broken down by relevant categories 

18 designated at the Secretary’s discretion; 

19 ‘‘(5) identifies ways to support joint training 

20 for IBET stakeholder agencies and radio interoper21 ability to allow for secure cross-border radio commu22 nications; and 

23 ‘‘(6) identifies and assesses ways IBET, Border 

24 Tunnel Task Forces, Border Enforcement Security 

25 Task Forces, and the Integrated Cross-Border MariVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3273.IH H3273

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 3273 IH

1 time Law Enforcement Operation Program can bet2 ter align operations, including interdiction and inves3 tigation activities.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

5 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 

6 amended by striking the items relating to sections 435 and 

7 436 and inserting the following new items: 

‘‘Sec. 435. Maritime operations coordination plan. 

‘‘Sec. 436. Maritime security capabilities assessments. 

‘‘Sec. 437. Integrated Border Enforcement Teams.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. BORDER TUNNEL DETECTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title IV of the 

10 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211 et seq.) 

11 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 420. BORDER TUNNEL TASK FORCES. 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

14 the Department a program to be known as the Border 

15 Tunnel Task Force program (referred to in this section 

16 as ‘BTTF’). 

17 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of BTTF established 

18 pursuant to subsection (a) is to enhance and integrate bor19 der security efforts by identifying, reducing, and remedi20 ating cross-border tunnel related threats by— 

21 ‘‘(1) facilitating collaboration among Federal, 

22 State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to 

23 execute coordinated activities; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 3273 IH

1 ‘‘(2) enhancing information-sharing, including 

2 the dissemination of homeland security information, 

3 among such agencies. 

4 ‘‘(c) COMPOSITION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF BOR5 DER TUNNEL TASK FORCE UNITS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—BTTF units may be com7 prised of personnel from the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

9 led by the U.S. Border Patrol. 

10 ‘‘(B) U.S. Immigration and Customs En11 forcement, led by Homeland Security Investiga12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(C) Other Department components and 

14 offices, as appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(D) Other Federal, State, local, Tribal, 

16 and foreign law enforcement agencies, as appro17 priate. 

18 ‘‘(E) Other appropriate personnel at the 

19 discretion of the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITS.—The Sec21 retary is authorized to establish BTTF units in re22 gions in which the Secretary determines such units 

23 can contribute to the Department’s border security 

24 efforts to identify, reduce, and remediate cross-bor25 der tunnel threats. When establishing a BTTF unit, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 3273 IH

1 the Secretary shall apply risk-based criteria that 

2 takes into consideration the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Whether the areas in which such 

4 BTTF units would be established are signifi5 cantly impacted by cross-border tunnel threats. 

6 ‘‘(B) The availability of Federal, State, 

7 local, and Tribal law enforcement resources to 

8 participate in such BTTF units. 

9 ‘‘(C) Whether other similar joint cross-bor10 der tunnel detection initiatives already take 

11 place within the region in which the BTTF unit 

12 would be established. 

13 ‘‘(d) DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS.—In determining 

14 whether to establish a new BTTF unit or to expand an 

15 existing BTTF unit in a given region, the Secretary shall 

16 ensure that the BTTF unit under consideration does not 

17 unnecessarily duplicate the efforts of other existing inter18 agency task forces or centers within such jurisdiction. 

19 ‘‘(e) OPERATION.—After determining the regions in 

20 which to establish BTTF units under subsection (c)(2), 

21 the Secretary may— 

22 ‘‘(1) direct the assignment of Federal personnel 

23 to such BTTF units; 

24 ‘‘(2) take other actions to assist Federal, State, 

25 local, and Tribal entities to participate in such 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 3273 IH

1 BTTF units, including providing financial assist2 ance, as appropriate, for operational, administrative, 

3 and technological costs associated with such partici4 pation; 

5 ‘‘(3) direct the development of policy and guid6 ance necessary to identify, assess, and integrate the 

7 available partner resources in relevant border sector 

8 security assessments and resource planning docu9 ments; 

10 ‘‘(4) establish targets and performance meas11 ures for BTTF units; 

12 ‘‘(5) direct leadership of each BTTF unit to 

13 monitor progress on such targets and performance 

14 measures for each such unit; and 

15 ‘‘(6) dedicate appropriate research and develop16 ment resources to improve cross-border tunnel detec17 tion and remediation capabilities. 

18 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate 

19 BTTF activities with other similar border security and 

20 antiterrorism programs within the Department that han21 dle matters relating to cross-border tunnel threat detec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF TUNNEL REMEDIATION AC24 CESS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, U.S. 

25 Customs and Border Protection shall have immediate acVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3273.IH H3273

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•HR 3273 IH

1 cess to Federal land for the remediation of tunnels used 

2 to facilitate illicit cross-border activities across the inter3 national borders of the United States. 

4 ‘‘(h) TUNNEL DETECTION AND REMEDIATION TECH5 NOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 90 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

7 shall establish a pilot program to test and evaluate new 

8 and emerging technologies for the purpose of detection 

9 and remediation of cross-border tunnel threats. 

10 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

11 date on which BTTF is established and biannually there12 after for the following six years, the Secretary shall submit 

13 to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

14 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that— 

16 ‘‘(1) describes targets and performance meas17 ures for BTTF units; 

18 ‘‘(2) describes the effectiveness of BTTF in ful19 filling the purposes specified in subsection (b); 

20 ‘‘(3) identifies and assesses the impact of cer21 tain challenges on the sustainment of cross-border 

22 BTTF operations and planned corrective actions; 

23 ‘‘(4) identifies and assesses costs associated 

24 with BTTF units broken down by relevant cat25 egories designated at the Secretary’s discretion; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•HR 3273 IH

1 ‘‘(5) identifies ways to support joint training 

2 for BTTF stakeholder agencies; 

3 ‘‘(6) identifies and assesses ways BTTF, IBET, 

4 and Border Enforcement Security Task Forces can 

5 better align operations, including interdiction and in6 vestigation activities; and 

7 ‘‘(7) identifies and assesses gaps in BTTF tech8 nological capability to detect cross-border tunnel 

9 threats.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

11 in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 

12 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

13 419 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 420. Border Tunnel Task Forces.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE 

15 UPDATES. 

16 (a) UPDATED PURPOSE.—Subsection (b) of section 

17 432 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 240) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

20 the semicolon at the end; 

21 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

22 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
13 

•HR 3273 IH

1 ‘‘(3) detecting, investigating, preventing, and 

2 responding to terrorism, transnational criminal orga3 nizations, and other violations of law related to bor4 der security.’’. 

5 (b) UPDATED CONSIDERATIONS FOR ESTABLISH6 MENT OF UNITS.—Paragraph (2) of section 432(c) of the 

7 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 240(c)) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— 

10 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘ju11 risdictions’’ and inserting ‘‘regions’’; 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘Before’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘When’’; and 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘shall consider’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘shall apply risk-based criteria that takes 

16 into consideration’’; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

18 after the semicolon at the end; and 

19 (3) by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D) and 

20 inserting the following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(C) Whether, in accordance with para22 graph (3), other joint cross-border initiatives al23 ready take place within the region in which the 

24 BEST unit would be established.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
14 

•HR 3273 IH

1 (c) UPDATED REPORT.—Subsection (e) of section 

2 432 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 240) 

3 is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this subsection and biannually 

6 thereafter for the following six years, the Secretary shall 

7 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Home9 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a 

10 report that— 

11 ‘‘(1) describes targets and performance meas12 ures for BEST units; 

13 ‘‘(2) describes the effectiveness of BEST units 

14 in fulfilling the purposes specified in subsection (b); 

15 ‘‘(3) identifies and assesses the impact of cer16 tain challenges on the sustainment of cross-border 

17 BEST operations, including challenges faced by 

18 international partners, and planned corrective ac19 tions; 

20 ‘‘(4) identifies and assesses costs associated 

21 with BEST units, broken down by relevant cat22 egories designated at the Secretary’s discretion; 

23 ‘‘(5) identifies ways to support joint training 

24 for BEST stakeholder agencies; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
15 

•HR 3273 IH

1 ‘‘(6) identifies and assesses ways BTTF under 

2 section 420, IBET units under section 437, and 

3 BEST units can better align operations, including 

4 interdiction and investigation activities; and 

5 ‘‘(7) identifies and assesses gaps in BEST tech6 nological capability to detect transnational criminal 

7 organizations or terrorist threats.’’. 

8 (d) UPDATED REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act and biannually 

10 thereafter for the following six years, the Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on 

12 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

13 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

14 Affairs of the Senate a report that— 

15 (1) describes the effectiveness of BEST units 

16 under section 432 of the Homeland Security Act of 

17 2002 (6 U.S.C. 240), as amended by this Act; 

18 (2) assesses the impact of certain challenges on 

19 the sustainment of cross-border BEST operations, 

20 including challenges faced by international partners, 

21 and planned corrective actions; 

22 (3) assesses costs associated with BEST units, 

23 broken down by relevant categories designated at the 

24 Secretary’s discretion; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
16 

•HR 3273 IH

1 (4) addresses ways to support joint training for 

2 BEST stakeholder agencies; 

3 (5) assesses how BTTF under section 420 of 

4 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as added by 

5 this Act), IBET units under section 437 of the 

6 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as added by this 

7 Act), and BEST units can better align operations, 

8 including interdiction and investigation activities; 

9 and 

10 (6) assesses the gaps in BEST technological ca11 pability to detect cross-border tunnel threats. 

12 (e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 Section 432 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

14 U.S.C. 240) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (c)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting a 

17 semicolon at the end; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘jurisdic19 tion’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘re20 gion’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding 

22 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘jurisdictions’’ and in23 serting ‘‘regions’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS