Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act
- Bill Number
- S. 1871
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Immigration
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-05-22: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Last Updated
- 2025-06-13T17:43:41Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act (S. 1871) aims to strengthen U.S. border security by mandating the development of a strategic plan to identify, integrate, and deploy safe, secure, and innovative technologies. This enhances the capabilities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in addressing mission needs along international borders and at ports of entry, such as detecting threats, inspecting goods, and managing surveillance.
Key Provisions
- Development and Submission of Plan: Within 180 days of enactment, the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the CBP Commissioner and the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, must submit a detailed plan to specified Senate and House committees. The plan is developed in consultation with key DHS offices, including those for information technology, procurement, privacy, civil rights, and legal counsel.
- Plan Contents: The plan must cover:
- How CBP uses its Innovation Team and other methods to adopt new technologies.
- Assessments of contributions, team compositions, and coordination with acquisition offices and partners.
- Identification of useful technologies from other federal agencies.
- Analysis of procurement authorities and needs for new ones.
- Strategies to scale pilot programs into full operations, including timelines, goals, and metrics for evaluation.
- Assessments of privacy, civil rights, civil liberties, and safety impacts, plus mitigation measures.
- Coordination with DHS's Science and Technology Directorate for research, private sector incentives, and collaboration with businesses, universities, and labs.
- Compliance with DHS artificial intelligence (AI) policies, where AI refers to machine-based systems that perform tasks requiring human intelligence.
- Identification of advancements in areas like aircraft sensors, drones (unmanned aerial systems), surveillance tools (e.g., cameras, radar, towers), non-invasive inspection devices (e.g., those using particle detection without X-rays), tunnel detection, and communication equipment (e.g., radios, broadband, small satellites).
- Plans to phase out outdated technologies, with cost estimates.
- CBP Innovation Team Authority: Authorizes CBP to maintain one or more Innovation Teams to research and adapt commercial technologies (e.g., innovative, privacy-enhancing, or emerging tools). Teams must:
- Follow DHS procurement, AI, privacy, and civil rights policies.
- Establish operating procedures, strategic goals with metrics (e.g., transition rates to full programs), and compliance protocols.
- Submit annual reports to Congress on activities, piloted technologies, successes, and transition efforts.
- Cost-Benefit Requirement: Before large-scale deployment of any new technology from the plan, DHS must evaluate costs and benefits to ensure measurable improvements in border security.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Formalizes and expands CBP's Innovation Team authority, which previously existed informally, by specifying functions, procedures, and reporting requirements to ensure structured adoption of technologies.
- Introduces a mandatory, comprehensive plan for technology integration, including explicit requirements for privacy, civil rights, and AI compliance, which were not previously mandated at this level of detail.
- Requires assessments for phasing out legacy (older) systems and scaling pilots into permanent programs, promoting efficiency but without altering core border security laws like those under the Homeland Security Act.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: Enhances CBP and DHS efficiency in border operations through better technology, potentially reducing costs by replacing outdated systems and improving coordination across DHS components. Increases administrative workload for planning and reporting but provides metrics for accountability.
- Citizens: Improves national security by addressing gaps in threat detection and inspection, potentially leading to safer borders. However, new surveillance technologies could raise privacy concerns for travelers and border communities, though the law mandates impact assessments and mitigations to protect civil rights and liberties.
- International Relations: Strengthens U.S. border management, which may facilitate smoother trade and travel at ports of entry with neighboring countries (e.g., Canada, Mexico), but could indirectly affect diplomatic ties if technologies impact cross-border interactions.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Primary implementers, responsible for plan development, team operations, and technology deployment.
- Congressional Committees: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Committee on Homeland Security, which receive the plan and annual reports for oversight.
- Private Sector and Innovators: Businesses, small and disadvantaged companies, and tech developers incentivized to create border-relevant technologies, including privacy-enhancing tools.
- Academic and Research Entities: Universities, centers of excellence, and federal labs involved in collaboration for research and adaptation.
- Border Communities and Individuals: Affected by technology deployments, with protections for privacy and civil rights; includes travelers, immigrants, and local residents near borders.
- Other Federal Agencies: Those sharing technologies (e.g., Defense or Justice Departments) and DHS offices like the Science and Technology Directorate.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal and Constitutional: Emphasizes compliance with privacy laws (e.g., Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches) and civil rights statutes by requiring assessments and consultations with privacy and civil liberties officers. Promotes responsible AI use, aligning with emerging federal guidelines to prevent bias or errors in automated systems. No direct constitutional challenges, but mandates could face scrutiny if deployments infringe on rights without adequate mitigations.
- Political: Bipartisan introduction (by Senators Cortez Masto, D-NV, and Cassidy, R-LA) signals broad support for modernizing border tech amid ongoing debates on immigration and security. Encourages public-private partnerships, potentially boosting innovation but raising concerns about government reliance on commercial tech. The focus on "safe and secure" technologies addresses national security without expanding enforcement powers, avoiding partisan flashpoints.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2025-05-22: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 2025-05-22: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act — issued 2025-05-22 — PDF (11 pages)