I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8275 
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a public 
blockchain-based system to securely store and share data related to 
border security, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2024 
Ms. MACE (for herself and Mr. DONALDS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish 
a public blockchain-based system to securely store and 
share data related to border security, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 Security and 
Blockchain Technology Act’’. 
SEC. 2. BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY FOR BORDER APPRE-
HENSIONS. 
(a) IMPLEMENTATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion shall select a public blockchain platform that 
meets the agency’s needs and requirements, as set 
forth in the agency’s budgets for fiscal year 2017– 
2021. 
(2) SMART CONTRACTS.—The Commissioner of 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection may develop 
smart contracts that may be used to securely store 
and share data related to border security. 
(3) INTEGRATION.—The Commissioner of U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection shall integrate exist-
ing systems, such as biometric data and travel docu-
ments, with the public blockchain platform selected 
under paragraph (1). 
(4) DATA VERIFICATION AND INTEGRITY.—The 
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion shall utilize blockchain technology to ensure the 
integrity and immutability of data related to border 
security operations, including biometric data, visa in-
formation, and customs documentation. 
(5) ENHANCED INTEROPERABILITY.—The Com-
missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
shall facilitate secure and efficient data exchange 
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and interoperability between various Federal and 
international border control and immigration agen-
cies, leveraging blockchain’s decentralized nature to 
enhance collaboration without compromising data se-
curity. 
(6) DATA INPUT.—The platform shall be de-
signed to input data in real-time from all relevant 
Federal Government agencies, including U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement. 
(7) APPLICATIONS.—The public blockchain 
platform shall be utilized for the following applica-
tions to enhance border security operations: 
(A) DOCUMENTATION VERIFICATION.—The 
platform shall be utilized to securely verify the 
authenticity of travel and identity documents in 
real time, reducing fraud and streamlining the 
entry process. 
(B) SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY.—The plat-
form shall be utilized to improve the tracking 
and management of goods through customs, en-
hancing transparency and efficiency in trade 
and commerce. 
(C) PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.—The plat-
form shall be utilized to manage border control 
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personnel deployment and operations securely 
and efficiently. 
(D) 
REAL-TIME
DATA
SHARING.—The 
platform shall be utilized to enable secure and 
instant data sharing among border control 
agencies, law enforcement, and other relevant 
government entities to enhance situational 
awareness and response times. 
(8) OBJECTIVES.—The implementation of the 
public blockchain platform aims to achieve the fol-
lowing objectives: 
(A) ENHANCED SECURITY.—The platform 
shall trengthen the security of border oper-
ations by leveraging blockchain’s immutable 
and encrypted record-keeping capabilities. 
(B) IMPROVED
EFFICIENCY.—The plat-
form shall streamline border control processes 
through faster verification procedures and re-
duced manual data entry. 
(C) 
INCREASED
TRANSPARENCY.—The 
platform shall provide a transparent and tam-
per-proof system for the management and over-
sight of border security operations. 
(D) INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.—The 
platform shall facilitate a higher degree of col-
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laboration and data sharing among Federal 
agencies involved in border security. 
(b) OVERSIGHT AND EVALUATION.—The Commis-
sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall estab-
lish a system for oversight and evaluation of the imple-
mentation of public blockchain technology in border secu-
rity, including the appointment of a project manager, reg-
ular reports to the relevant authorities and an independent 
evaluation of the project. 
(c) SECURITY.—The platform shall be designed to en-
sure the security and confidentiality of sensitive informa-
tion. 
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months 
after the selection of a public blockchain platform 
under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall submit to Congress a report on the 
implementation of the platform, including a descrip-
tion of the platform’s capabilities and any challenges 
encountered during implementation. 
(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 
after the submission of the report required under 
paragraph (1) and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall submit to Congress a re-
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port on the ongoing operation and maintenance of 
the platform. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) 
BLOCKCHAIN.—The 
term 
‘‘blockchain’’ 
means a distributed ledger technology that uses 
cryptography to secure and validate transactions and 
data. 
(2) BORDER APPREHENSIONS.—The term ‘‘bor-
der apprehensions’’ means the arrest and detain-
ment of individuals by Federal law enforcement offi-
cials for immigration violations at or near the 
United States border. 
(3) BORDER
CONTROL
AGENCIES.—The term 
‘‘border control agencies’’ means U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection and any other Government agen-
cies the Secretary of Homeland Security determines 
is involved in border security. 
(4) SMART CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘smart con-
tract’’ means a self-executing contract with the 
terms of the agreement written into lines of code. 
Æ 
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