Rep. Bishop Introduces Legislation to Enhance Border Security

Rep Rob Bishop (R-UT) introduced the National Security and Federal Lands Protection act. The legislation aims to close security gaps on federal lands along the nation’s borders.

National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) introduced the National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505).  This legislation remedies current security gaps that exist on federal lands along our nation’s borders by preventing the Department of Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from using environmental policies to restrict the U.S. Border patrol from obtaining routine access.  House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA), Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY), and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) are original co-sponsors of the bill.

According to Bishop, “This legislation takes the necessary and responsible steps to address the unacceptable restrictions that prevent Border Security experts from doing their jobs.  Allowing public land managers and restrictive environmental policies, not Border Security experts, to dictate how we secure our nation’s borders and keep our country safe is counterintuitive, and as a result, has jeopardized the safety and security of all Americans.”

Specifically, the National Security and Federal Protection Act:

  • Prevents the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture from impeding, prohibiting, or restricting the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to obtain operational control of the border.
  • Provides the Department of Homeland Security with immediate access to federal lands necessary to provide the utmost security throughout the border region.
  • Allows the U.S. Border Patrol to construct and maintain roads and place surveillance equipment in strategic areas that will assist in detecting and apprehending criminals.
  • Allows the Department of Homeland Security to waive certain policies preventing them from obtaining full operational control of the border.

“The federal lands along our border are a haven of criminal activity and the same environmental policies that are supposed to be protecting the lands are actually allowing them to be destroyed.  In fact, what benefit these regulations are actually providing remains a mystery.  I have seen firsthand the damage that has been done to our federal lands from trash, foot traffic and man-made fires.  Providing Border Patrol with the necessary access to deter and apprehend those who cross through our federal lands illegally would deliver the greatest benefit to both national security and the long-term health of our federal lands,” Bishop added.

About the Author

Ralph Smith has several decades of experience working with federal human resources issues. He has written extensively on a full range of human resources topics in books and newsletters and is a co-founder of two companies and several newsletters on federal human resources. Follow Ralph on Twitter: @RalphSmith47