I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4360 
To enforce law and order by establishing a program to authorize, fund, 
and otherwise assist local Sheriffs’ offices in designated counties to 
provide a second line of defense alongside and in close cooperation 
with the United States Customs Border Protection (CBP) and Immigra-
tion and Customs Enforcement, to conduct law enforcement operations 
in their counties along the southern international border of the United 
States, and to prevent lawlessness in border areas. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2005 
Mr. CULBERSON (for himself, Mr. REYES, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. 
SMITH of Texas, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. ALEX-
ANDER, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. BROWN of South 
Carolina, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CARTER, Mr. 
DEAL of Georgia, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. GOODE, Ms. GRANG-
ER, Mr. HALL, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of 
Texas, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. 
MARCHANT, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. POE, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SESSIONS, 
Mr. TANCREDO, and Mr. THORNBERRY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To enforce law and order by establishing a program to au-
thorize, fund, and otherwise assist local Sheriffs’ offices 
in designated counties to provide a second line of defense 
alongside and in close cooperation with the United States 
Customs Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, to conduct law enforcement oper-
ations in their counties along the southern international
border of the United States, and to prevent lawlessness 
in border areas. 
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 ‘‘Border Law Enforce-
ment Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that: 
(1) Federal officials do not have sufficient man-
power or resources to prevent criminals, terrorists, 
and foreign nationals who have entered the United 
States illegally from engaging in criminal activity. 
Local and State law enforcement officials are being 
overwhelmed by growing lawlessness along our 
southern international border. 
(2) There is a rapidly growing number of armed 
and dangerous criminals, violent gang members, 
drug smugglers, and potential terrorists entering the 
United States illegally over our southern inter-
national border. These criminals are becoming in-
creasingly well organized, trained and equipped, and 
in recent months a trend is developing which indi-
cates that the level of violence and the volume of 
criminal activity along the Rio Grande is rapidly es-
calating to the level of open warfare between law en-
forcement officials and organized criminal narco-ter-
rorists. 
(3) Federal and State law enforcement officials 
have identified an alarming increase in the number 
of foreign nationals from countries with known con-
nections to terrorist organizations who are hiding 
among an immense and rapidly growing number of 
foreign nationals who are entering the United States 
illegally. 
(4) The United States is at war with terrorist 
criminal organizations and with individuals from for-
eign nations who are fanatically committed to the 
destruction of the United States, who have repeat-
edly demonstrated their ability and willingness to 
hide their true identities and their evil purposes, and 
who may enter and move about the United States il-
legally and use sneak attacks and any criminal 
means or method available to them to cause the 
mass destruction of human life in the United States. 
(5) The peace, security, and well being of the 
people of the United States are being placed at 
grave risk by the inability or unwillingness of Fed-
eral officials to protect our international borders and 
prevent individuals from entering and remaining in 
the United States illegally during our war on terror-
ists. The lawlessness along our southern inter-
national border is unacceptable, and presents a clear 
and present danger to the nation. 
SEC. 3. DESIGNATED COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSIST-
ANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) AUTHORITY AND STATEMENTS OF POLICY.— 
(1) The Congress recognizes that elected State 
and local law enforcement officials are directly ac-
countable to State and local voters. Therefore, by 
passage of this Act, Congress reaffirms the residual 
full sovereign authority of the States to protect the 
lives, safety, and property of the people within their 
jurisdiction by preventing and punishing criminal ac-
tivity, subject only to judicial enforcement of min-
imum Federal standards of due process and equal 
protection under the 14th Amendment. 
(2) This Act authorizes the Sheriffs in des-
ignated counties adjacent to the southern inter-
national border area, who are the highest locally 
elected law enforcement authority in those areas, to 
coordinate law enforcement operations in support of 
personnel of United States Customs and Border 
Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment, to conduct law enforcement operations in the 
interior areas in their counties, including the areas
on and adjacent to the international border, to en-
sure, as determined by Federal law enforcement offi-
cials, that individuals detained or taken into custody 
by the Sheriff are lawfully present in the United 
States, and to otherwise authorize Sheriffs to as-
sume full and final sovereign authority to enforce 
criminal laws and to protect the peace, safety, and 
security of all persons and property in their coun-
ties. 
(3) The Congress finds that the rapidly esca-
lating lawlessness on our Nation’s southern inter-
national border and interior areas adjacent to the 
international border, and the inability of Federal of-
ficials to control this lawlessness, make the provi-
sions of this Act reaffirming full sovereign power to 
enforce criminal law in State and local officials nec-
essary ‘‘to execute the Laws of the Union’’ and ‘‘to 
insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common 
defense’’ and to ‘‘promote the general Welfare’’. 
Federal officials are directed to implement, enforce, 
and carry out vigorously and promptly the intent of 
Congress as expressed in this Act. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A Designated County Law 
Enforcement Assistance program is hereby estab-
lished jointly within the Department of Justice and 
the Department of Homeland Security in order to 
provide immediate and long term financial assistance 
and authorization for the law enforcement oper-
ations of Sheriffs in counties adjacent to the south-
ern international border of the United States. 
(2) DESIGNATED COUNTIES ADJACENT TO THE 
SOUTHERN BORDER OF THE UNITED STATES DE-
FINED.—In this Act, the term ‘‘designated counties 
adjacent to the southern international border of the 
United States’’ includes a county any part of which 
is within 25 miles of the southern international bor-
der of the United States. 
(c) AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any Sheriff or coalition or 
group of Sheriffs from designated counties adjacent 
to the southern international border of the United 
States is authorized to perform the following duties 
or functions, and shall be promptly paid for the 
costs of performing such duties or functions by the 
Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity for any local or State funds previously ex-
pended or proposed to be spent by that Sheriff or 
coalition or group of Sheriffs.