IIB 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 915 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 4, 2012 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To establish a Border Enforcement Security Task Force 
program to enhance border security by fostering coordi-
nated efforts among Federal, State, and local border 
and law enforcement officials to protect United States 
border cities and communities from trans-national crime, 
including violence associated with drug trafficking, arms 
smuggling, illegal alien trafficking and smuggling, vio-
lence, and kidnapping along and across the international 
borders of the United States, and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Jaime Zapata Border 
Enforcement Security Task Force Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSES. 
Congress finds the following: 
(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, 
including 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 face similar challenges from 
transnational smuggling organizations. 
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(4) In response, DHS has partnered with Fed-
eral, State, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement 
counterparts to create the Border Enforcement Se-
curity Task Force (BEST) initiative as a com-
prehensive approach to addressing border security 
threats. These multi-agency teams are designed to 
increase 
information-sharing 
and 
collaboration 
among the participating law enforcement agencies. 
(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 Explosives (ATFE), the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation (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 agencies. 
(6) Foreign law enforcement agencies include 
Mexico’s Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP), the 
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the On-
tario Provincial Police (OPP), and the Royal Cana-
dian Mounted Police (RCMP). 
SEC. 3. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
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