118th CONGRESS 2d Session |
May 20, 2024
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To require a report by the Attorney General on the impact the border crisis is having on law enforcement at the Federal, State, local, and Tribal level.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Police Our Border Act”.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) Our Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement officers put their lives on the line each day in order to protect our country and serve their communities.
(2) According to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund, 136 law enforcement officers died in the line-of-duty in 2023.
(3) Congress should do everything in its power to support law enforcement officers at every level and in every part of our nation.
(4) The southwest border crisis created by the Biden Administration has made every state a border state.
(5) The Biden border crisis has placed a burden on law enforcement agencies across the nation and has placed a significant strain on the resources that are critical to keeping communities safe.
(6) Law enforcement officers in every state are put in life-threatening scenarios as a direct result of the open borders.
(7) Law enforcement has been forced to deal with the influx of fentanyl and many officers are exposed to the drug while on duty.
(8) It is in the best interest of law enforcement officers and the communities they serve for Congress to pass, and the President to sign into law, strong border security legislation, and for the President to utilize long standing authorities, including under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), to secure the southern border.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the impact the Biden border crisis is having on law enforcement officers at the Federal, State, local, and Tribal level, including—
(1) the estimated dollar amount of all resources devoted to addressing the Biden border crisis, and the extent to which such resources are not available to law enforcement agencies;
(2) the exposure of law enforcement officers to fentanyl resulting from encounters with illegal aliens at the border and in the United States, and the nationality of each such alien;
(3) injuries to law enforcement officers based on a connection to the Biden border crisis or exposure to fentanyl;
(4) the morale of law enforcement officers;
(5) the recruiting impact on hiring law enforcement as a result of the Biden border crisis;
(6) estimated dollar amount States expended on local law enforcement efforts to investigate, intercept, and process, which includes the entire evidence lifecycle, from collection and analysis to storage and final destruction, fentanyl trafficked from the United States border; and
(7) how many law enforcement officers have been reassigned and local resources reallocated to investigate, intercept, and process, which includes the entire evidence lifecycle, from collection and analysis to storage and final destruction, fentanyl trafficked from the United States border.
Passed the House of Representatives May 16, 2024.
| Attest: | kevin f. mccumber, |
| Clerk. |