II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1312 

To reprogram $15,000,000,000 to improve border security and enforcement, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2023 

Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. DAINES, Ms. ERNST, Mr. 

LANKFORD, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. CASSIDY, and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To reprogram $15,000,000,000 to improve border security 

and enforcement, 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 ‘‘Securing our Border 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) United States border security is paramount 

9 to the general welfare of our Nation and ensures the 


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1 efficient and meaningful flow of goods and individ2 uals through legal means. 

3 (2) Illicit narcotics transported into the United 

4 States through ports of entry were estimated to 

5 cause approximately 104,000 deaths between Feb6 ruary 2021 and February 2022. 

7 (3) Only 2 percent of passenger vehicles and 20 

8 percent of commercial vehicles crossing the southern 

9 border are scanned by nonintrusive inspection tech10 nology through a radiation portal monitor. 

11 (4) U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents 

12 process more than 1,000,000 passengers and pedes13 trians on a typical day. 

14 (5) Limiting the amount of deadly illicit nar15 cotics, including fentanyl, from entering the United 

16 States would reduce the number of Americans who 

17 die annually from the use of such narcotics. 

18 (6) Because of the failure to update nonintru19 sive inspection technologies at land ports of entry 

20 along the southern border of the United States, 

21 there has been an increase in the amount of illicit 

22 narcotics, such as fentanyl, being trafficked across 

23 the southern border. 


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1 (7) Between 2021 and 2022, approximately 

2 1,514,000 pounds of illicit drugs were seized at the 

3 southern border. 

4 (8) U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents 

5 had 199,976 encounters at the southern border dur6 ing July 2022, including— 

7 (A) 134,362 single adults; 

8 (B) 51,822 family units; and 

9 (C) 13,299 unaccompanied minors. 

10 (9) According to the Department of Homeland 

11 Security, 750 migrants died attempting to cross the 

12 southern border during fiscal year 2022, which is— 

13 (A) more migrant deaths than occurred in 

14 any previous fiscal year; and 

15 (B) more than 200 more migrant deaths 

16 than the number of such deaths during fiscal 

17 year 2021. 

18 (10) The United States has a backlog of open 

19 removal cases, which totaled more than 1,820,000 as 

20 of June 2022. 

21 (11) Since October 1, 2019, U.S. Customs and 

22 Border Protection has reported 1,302 encounters 

23 with potential terrorists at ports of entry along the 

24 southern and northern borders. 


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1 (12) According to U.S. Customs and Border 

2 Protection onboard staffing data, approximately 

3 2,700 additional U.S. Customs and Border Protec4 tion officers need to be stationed at United States 

5 ports of entry to fully staff such ports. 

6 (13) There are approximately 20,000 border 

7 agents stationed at ports of entry along the southern 

8 border. 

9 (14) Due to shifting priorities, construction 

10 delays, a lack of available technology solutions, and 

11 funding constraints, most southern U.S. Border Pa12 trol sectors still rely on obsolete systems or tech13 nologies. 

14 SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR NONINTRUSIVE BORDER INSPEC15 TIONS. 

16 Of the unobligated balances from amounts made 

17 available under section 10301(1)(A)(ii) of Public Law 

18 117–169, $5,000,000,000 shall be transferred to U.S. 

19 Customs and Border Protection during the 9-year period 

20 ending on October 1, 2032, for nonintrusive inspection 

21 systems to achieve a 100 percent nonintrusive inspection 

22 scanning rate at all northern border and southwest border 

23 land ports of entry by October 1, 2032. 


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1 SEC. 4. FUNDING FOR BORDER WALL CONSTRUCTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Of the unobligated balances from 

3 amounts made available under section 10301(1)(A)(ii) of 

4 Public Law 117–169, $10,000,000,000 shall be trans5 ferred to the Department of Homeland Security during 

6 the 9-year period ending on October 1, 2032, for activities 

7 related to the construction of a border wall system along 

8 the southwest international border of the United States. 

9 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—The Secretary of Home10 land Security shall submit quarterly reports to the Com11 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on 

12 Finance of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Secu13 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Com14 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 

15 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep16 resentatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security of 

17 the House of Representatives that contains— 

18 (1) an implementation plan with benchmarks 

19 related to stemming illegal immigration; and 

20 (2) cost estimates associated with border wall 

21 system construction. 

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE BONUSES TO U.S. 

23 CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION 

24 AGENTS. 

25 (a) RECRUITMENT BONUSES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the approval of 

2 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commis3 sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may 

4 pay a recruitment bonus, not to exceed $15,000, to 

5 each newly hired U.S. Customs and Border Protec6 tion agent after— 

7 (A) the agent completes initial basic train8 ing; and 

9 (B) the execution of a written agreement 

10 described in paragraph (2). 

11 (2) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—A written agree12 ment described in this paragraph is a legally binding 

13 agreement between a newly hired agent and U.S. 

14 Customs and Border Protection that— 

15 (A) specifies the amount of the bonus pay16 ment to be paid to such agent, including the 

17 timing of such payment; 

18 (B) the length of the period of service re19 quired to be completed before such agent is en20 titled to retain such payment; and 

21 (C) any other terms and conditions to 

22 which such payment is subject. 

23 (b) RETENTION BONUSES.—Subject to the approval 

24 of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner 

25 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may pay annual 


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1 retention bonuses, not to exceed 15 percent of the agent’s 

2 basic pay, to U.S. Border Patrol agents after the comple3 tion of each year of satisfactory service, as determined by 

4 the Commissioner. 

5 (c) RELOCATION BONUS.—Subject to the approval of 

6 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner of 

7 U.S. Customs and Border Protection may pay a relocation 

8 bonus, not to exceed 15 percent of the agent’s annual 

9 basic pay, to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent 

10 who agrees to be transferred and to serve for not less than 

11 3 years at the new duty station. 

12 (d) LIMITATION.—None of the bonuses paid to a U.S. 

13 Customs and Border Protection agent pursuant to sub14 sections (a) through (c) may be considered part of the 

15 basic pay of such agent for any purpose, including for re16 tirement or in computing a lump-sum payment to the 

17 agent for accumulated and accrued annual leave under 

18 section 5551 or 5552 of title 5, United States Code. 

19 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF ALIENS ARRIVING FROM CONTIG20 UOUS TERRITORY. 

21 Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nation22 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(C)) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘may return’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol24 lowing: ‘‘shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) return the alien to such territory, 

2 or to a safe third country (as described in 

3 section 208), pending the completion of a 

4 proceeding under section 240; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) detain the alien for further con6 sideration of an application for asylum, 

7 which shall include a determination of 

8 credible fear of persecution.’’. 

Æ 


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