In the Senate of the United States, 
September 22 (legislative day, September 21), 2012. 
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 915) entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a Border En-
forcement Security Task Force program to enhance border 
security by fostering coordinated efforts among Federal, 
State, and local border and law enforcement officials to pro-
tect United States border cities and communities from trans- 
national crime, including violence associated with drug traf-
ficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien trafficking and smug-
gling, violence, and kidnapping along and across the inter-
national borders of the United States, and for other pur-
poses.’’, do pass with the following 
AMENDMENT: 
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jaime Zapata Border 
Enforcement Security Task Force Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSES. 
Congress finds the following:
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(1) The Department of Homeland Security’s 
(DHS) overriding mission is to lead a unified na-
tional effort to protect the United States. United 
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 
is the largest investigative agency within DHS and is 
charged with enforcing a wide array of laws, includ-
ing laws related to securing the border and combating 
criminal smuggling. 
(2) Mexico’s northern border with the United 
States has experienced a dramatic surge in border 
crime and violence in recent years due to intense 
competition between Mexican drug cartels and crimi-
nal smuggling organizations that employ predatory 
tactics to realize their profits. 
(3) Law enforcement agencies at the United 
States northern border also face challenges from 
transnational smuggling organizations. 
(4) In response, DHS has partnered with Fed-
eral, State, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement 
counterparts to create the Border Enforcement Secu-
rity Task Force (BEST) initiative as a comprehen-
sive approach to addressing border security threats. 
These multi-agency teams are designed to increase in-
formation-sharing and collaboration among the par-
ticipating law enforcement agencies.
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(5) BEST teams incorporate personnel from 
ICE, United States Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo-
sives (ATFE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
(FBI), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and 
the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO), along with other 
key Federal, State and local law enforcement agen-
cies. 
(6) Foreign law enforcement agencies partici-
pating in BEST include Mexico’s Secretaria de 
Seguridad Publica (SSP), the Canada Border Serv-
ices Agency (CBSA), the Ontario Provincial Police 
(OPP), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 
(RCMP). 
SEC. 3. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title IV of the Home-
land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 432. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 
the Department a program to be known as the Border En-
forcement Security Task Force (referred to in this section 
as ‘BEST’).
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‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of BEST is to establish 
units to enhance border security by addressing and reduc-
ing border security threats and violence by— 
‘‘(1) facilitating collaboration among Federal, 
State, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement agen-
cies to execute coordinated activities in furtherance of 
border security, and homeland security; and 
‘‘(2) enhancing information-sharing, including 
the dissemination of homeland security information 
among such agencies. 
‘‘(c) COMPOSITION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITS.— 
‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—BEST units may be com-
prised of personnel from— 
‘‘(A) U.S. Immigration and Customs En-
forcement; 
‘‘(B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 
‘‘(C) the United States Coast Guard; 
‘‘(D) other Department personnel, as appro-
priate 
‘‘(E) other Federal agencies, as appropriate; 
‘‘(F) appropriate State law enforcement 
agencies; 
‘‘(G) foreign law enforcement agencies, as 
appropriate;
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‘‘(H) local law enforcement agencies from 
affected border cities and communities; and 
‘‘(I) appropriate tribal law enforcement 
agencies. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITS.—The Secretary 
is authorized to establish BEST units in jurisdictions 
in which such units can contribute to BEST mis-
sions, as appropriate. Before establishing a BEST 
unit, the Secretary shall consider— 
‘‘(A) whether the area in which the BEST 
unit would be established is significantly im-
pacted by cross-border threats; 
‘‘(B) the availability of Federal, State, 
local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement re-
sources to participate in the BEST unit; 
‘‘(C) the extent to which border security 
threats are having a significant harmful impact 
in the jurisdiction in which the BEST unit is to 
be established, and other jurisdictions in the 
country; and 
‘‘(D) whether or not an Integrated Border 
Enforcement Team already exists in the area in 
which the BEST unit would be established. 
‘‘(3) DUPLICATION
OF
EFFORTS.—In deter-
mining whether to establish a new BEST unit or to
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expand an existing BEST unit in a given jurisdic-
tion, the Secretary shall ensure that the BEST unit 
under consideration does not duplicate the efforts of 
other existing interagency task forces or centers with-
in that jurisdiction. 
‘‘(d) OPERATION.—After determining the jurisdictions 
in which to establish BEST units under subsection (c)(2), 
and in order to provide Federal assistance to such jurisdic-
tions, the Secretary may— 
‘‘(1) direct the assignment of Federal personnel 
to BEST, subject to the approval of the head of the 
department or agency that employs such personnel; 
and 
‘‘(2) take other actions to assist Federal, State, 
local, and tribal entities to participate in BEST, in-
cluding providing financial assistance, as appro-
priate, for operational, administrative, and techno-
logical costs associated with the participation of Fed-
eral, State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies 
in BEST. 
‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
on which BEST is established under this section, and annu-
ally thereafter for the following 5 years, the Secretary shall 
submit a report to Congress that describes the effectiveness 
of BEST in enhancing border security and reducing the
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drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien trafficking 
and smuggling, violence, and kidnapping along and across 
the international borders of the United States, as measured 
by crime statistics, including violent deaths, incidents of 
violence, and drug-related arrests.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
under section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 101(b)) is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 431 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 432. Border Enforcement Security Task Force.’’. 
Attest: 
Secretary.