I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 285 
To establish Joint Operations Centers along the southern border of the 
United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2025 
Mr. JOYCE of Ohio (for himself, Ms. LEE of Nevada, Mr. CISCOMANI, and 
Mr. PAPPAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways 
and Means, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish Joint Operations Centers along the southern 
border of the United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Border Co-
ordination Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT OPERATIONS CENTERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Department shall estab-
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lish not fewer than 2 Joint Operations Centers along the 
southern border of the United States to provide unified 
coordination centers, where law enforcement from multiple 
Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies can collaborate 
in accordance with the purposes described in subsection 
(b). 
(b) MATTERS COVERED.—The Centers shall provide 
centralized operations hubs for matters related to the fol-
lowing: 
(1) Implementing coordination and communica-
tion for field operations between participating Fed-
eral, State, local, and Tribal agencies, as needed. 
(2) Coordinating operations across participating 
Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies, as needed, 
including ground, air, and sea or amphibious oper-
ations. 
(3) Coordinating and supporting border oper-
ations, including deterring and detecting criminal ac-
tivity related to— 
(A) transnational criminal organizations; 
(B) illegal border crossings; 
(C) the seizure of weapons; 
(D) the seizure of drugs; 
(E) the seizure of high valued property; 
(F) terrorism; 
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(G) human trafficking; 
(H) drug trafficking; and 
(I) such additional matters as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate. 
(c) INFORMATION SHARING.—To ensure effective 
transmission of information between participating Fed-
eral, State, local, and Tribal agencies, for purposes of sub-
section (b), coordination and communication shall in-
clude— 
(1) Federal agencies sharing pertinent informa-
tion with participating State, local, and Tribal agen-
cies through the Centers; and 
(2) Federal agencies notifying participating 
State, local, and Tribal agencies of operations occur-
ring within the jurisdictions of those agencies. 
(d) 
WORKFORCE
CAPABILITIES.—The 
Centers 
shall— 
(1) track and coordinate deployment of partici-
pating personnel; and 
(2) coordinate training, as needed. 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary shall consult with participating Federal agen-
cies, and shall seek feedback from participating State, 
local, and Tribal agencies, to report to Congress— 
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(1) a description of the efforts undertaken to 
establish the Centers; 
(2) an identification of the resources used for 
the operations of the Centers; 
(3) a description of the key operations coordi-
nated and supported by each Center; 
(4) a description of any significant interoper-
ability and communication gaps identified between 
participating Federal, State, local, and Tribal agen-
cies within each Center; 
(5) recommendations for improved coordination 
and communication between participating Federal 
agencies in developing and operating current and fu-
ture Centers; and 
(6) other data as the Secretary determines ap-
propriate. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CENTERS.—The term ‘‘Centers’’ means the 
Joint Operations Centers established under section 
3(a). 
(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 
means the Department of Homeland Security. 
(3) PARTICIPATING
FEDERAL
AGENCY.—The 
term ‘‘participating Federal agency’’ means— 
(A) the Department; 
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(B) the Department of Defense; 
(C) the Department of Justice; and 
(D) any other Federal agency as the Sec-
retary determines appropriate. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
and any territory or possession of the United States. 
Æ 
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