Yesterday, Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s (AZ-08) national security bill, H.R. 6400—the United States Ports of Entry Threat and Operational Review Act, was signed into law by President Donald Trump. This is her first bill to be signed into law since being sworn into Congress back in May. Congresswoman Lesko released the following statement:

“Since day one in Congress, I have stressed how important it is to secure our border and keep our nation and our citizens safe, and my bill will do just that. Thank you to my colleagues and President Trump for supporting my efforts. I look forward to reviewing the results of this legislation from the Department of Homeland Security so we can better secure our air, land, and sea ports of entry.

Background: In July, Congresswoman Debbie Lesko introduced H.R. 6400, the United States Ports of Entry Threat and Operational Review Act, which was unanimously approved by the House Homeland Security Committee on July 24, 2018, passed out of the House on September 4, 2018, and out of the Senate on December 19, 2018.

H.R. 6400, requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to do two things: (1) conduct a ports of entry threat and operational analysis of all United States air, land, and sea ports; and (2) create a ports of entry threat and operational strategy and implementation plan.

The contents of the analysis shall include an assessment of:

·       Current and potential threats

·       Methods and pathways used to exploit security vulnerabilities

·       Improvements needed to prevent the unlawful movement of people, illicit drugs, and other contraband across the border of the United States

·       Improvements needed to enhance travel and trade facilitation, and reduce wait times

·       Processes conducted at the ports of entry that do not require law enforcement training that could be filled with non-law enforcement staff, the private sector, or automated

The Secretary shall also consider the following in the analysis: Personnel needs and estimated costs; Technology needs and estimated costs; Infrastructure needs and estimated costs.

The contents of the strategy and implementation plan shall include a consideration of the ports of entry threat and operational analysis. It shall also include Department efforts to:

•        Reduce wait times

•        Prevent the unlawful movement of people, illicit drugs, and other contraband across the borders of the United States at the earliest possible point at ports

•        Focus intelligence collection and information analysis to disrupt transnational criminal organizations attempting to exploit vulnerabilities

•        Verify that any new port of entry technology acquisition can be operationally integrated with existing technologies in use by DHS

•        Identify and detect fraudulent documents

•         Prevent, detect, investigate, and mitigate corruption

The strategy and implementation plan shall also include the standards against which the effectiveness of the aforementioned efforts may be determined.