New Border Bill Mandates 1,000 New CBP Officers Annually, Requires Infrastructure Report to Fight Opioids

The “Securing America’s Ports of Entry Act of 2025” is essentially a mandate to fix the staffing and infrastructure squeeze at our nation’s ports of entry—the land crossings, seaports, and airports where goods and people enter the country. The core of this legislation (Sec. 2) is a massive hiring push: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must hire, train, and assign at least 1,000 new CBP officers every fiscal year, above attrition, until the agency meets its official staffing needs as determined by its Workload Staffing Model. This is a direct response to years of complaints that staffing shortages lead to long wait times and security risks.

The Staffing Surge: More Hands on Deck

For anyone who deals with international shipping, cross-border commerce, or even just flies internationally, this staffing increase matters. The bill requires CBP to use sophisticated data—including traffic forecasts, commercial forecasts, and even historical pre-COVID-19 travel volumes—to figure out exactly how many officers are needed at each location. This means the staffing levels should, theoretically, better match the actual flow of people and goods, potentially cutting down on the hours truckers spend waiting at the border or the delays travelers face at airport customs. Crucially, the bill also allows CBP to hire support staff and technicians to handle administrative tasks, freeing up the newly hired officers to focus strictly on law enforcement and inspection duties. If CBP fails to hit that 1,000-officer target in any given year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is required to step in and audit the agency’s hiring practices, ensuring accountability.

Targeting the Opioid Crisis at the Border

Beyond staffing, the bill takes aim at the flow of illegal drugs. Section 3 requires the CBP Commissioner to produce a detailed report within 90 days outlining specific infrastructure upgrades needed at ports of entry to better stop illegal opioids and other drugs. This isn't just about bigger buildings; it’s about identifying where technology is failing. The report must pinpoint specific ports that can't currently use the same high-tech detection gear deployed elsewhere, and list the exact equipment needed—including safety gear for officers who risk accidental exposure to dangerous substances like fentanyl during inspections. For the average person, this provision is a direct effort to enhance security and reduce the supply of illegal drugs entering U.S. communities.

No More Shell Games with Staff

One of the most interesting parts of this bill, found in Section 4, deals with transparency and resource management. CBP often moves officers temporarily from one port to another—a practice called “temporary duty assignments” (TDY). This bill mandates detailed quarterly reports to Congress on every single TDY: where the officers were moved from, where they went, how long they stayed, and the total cost. This is a big deal for ports that often lose staff to temporary assignments, creating security gaps. To combat this, the bill requires the Commissioner to give the director of the originating port at least 10 days' notice before any non-emergency staff redeployment. That port director then has to notify affected facilities, and CBP must brief employees on how they plan to handle any security weaknesses created by the staff reduction. This adds a layer of operational friction that should help prevent sudden, unannounced staff shortages at crucial entry points, ensuring that security isn't compromised just because staff are needed elsewhere, such as along the southern border—a cost that must also be detailed in the reports.