Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 | 2:13 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., is proposing a bill that calls for structural changes to how the Department of Homeland Security conducts southern border operations, her office said today.
The Advanced Border Coordination Act would give the agency six months to create two “Joint Operations Centers” along the U.S.-Mexico border to create a space for law enforcement — federal, state, local, and tribal levels — to coordinate efforts to combat unauthorized border crossings.
It also calls for the centers to submit an annual report on operational activities to Congress. A similar bill failed to pass during the previous congressional session.
“I’ve consistently voted to secure the resources and reforms we need to fix our broken immigration system, and this bipartisan bill is a big step in the right direction,” Lee said in a statement. “I’ll continue working with Republicans and Democrats to keep people safe and get common sense legislation like this signed into law.”
Lee co-sponsored the bipartisan legislation initially introduced by U.S. Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio., along with U.S. Reps. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and Chris Pappas, D-N.H. Companion legislation in the U.S. Senate was brought about by another Nevada Democratic, U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Joyce said he spoke with U.S. Border Patrol agents and visited the area to work on addressing “the disastrous border crisis we have experienced for years.” The Ohio representative previously served as chair of the House Appropriations Homeland Subcommittee.
Border crossings have decreased in recent months, following President Joe Biden’s executive order adding more Homeland Security agents and a crackdown on asylum claims. There has been a 60% decrease in encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border from May to November, officials said last month.
Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general, said this bill would help address transnational crime, such as drug and human trafficking. She initially drafted the legislation and introduced it in 2022.
“Border security shouldn’t be a controversial or partisan issue. We need to take common sense steps to strengthen our border security and make sure our law enforcement officers are working together,” Cortez Masto said in a statement.
Lee’s bill comes as the Senate is set to vote on the Laken Riley Act, which would mandate detention for undocumented immigrants who commit minor or nonviolent crimes, such as shoplifting.
All six members from Nevada’s federal delegation support the bill.