Border Bill Mandates 100% Cargo Scanning, Funds Wall, and Ends Asylum Release Option

The “Securing our Border Act” is a major overhaul of how the U.S. manages its land borders, tackling everything from drug smuggling to staffing shortages and the asylum process. Essentially, this bill pulls money out of existing federal accounts to fund two big infrastructure projects—advanced scanning technology and border wall construction—while also changing the rules for border agents and asylum seekers.

The Fentanyl Fight: Scanning Every Truck

Congress is worried about the massive amount of fentanyl and other drugs crossing the border, noting the U.S. saw over 105,000 overdose deaths in 2023. Right now, only about 20% of commercial trucks crossing the southern border get scanned with advanced radiation monitors. This bill aims to fix that by moving unspent money from a previous law (Public Law 117-169) to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) specifically for buying and installing nonintrusive inspection systems (SEC. 3).

The mandate is aggressive: CBP must achieve a 100% nonintrusive inspection scanning rate at every single land port of entry on both the northern and southern borders. They have until February 6, 2034, to get this done. Think about the ports of entry you use every day—like a major trucking route crossing from Mexico or Canada. Every single vehicle will eventually be scanned without being physically opened. For consumers, this could mean better protection against illicit drugs, but it also means a massive technological upgrade for trade infrastructure.

Construction and Cash: Wall Funding and Agent Bonuses

While one-third of the redirected funds go to scanners, the other two-thirds of the unspent money from that same previous law are earmarked for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for constructing the border wall system (SEC. 4). This move prioritizes physical barrier construction using existing, unspent federal funds, with DHS required to submit quarterly reports detailing how they plan to use the money to deter illegal immigration.

Meanwhile, the bill tries to solve CBP’s staffing crisis—which the bill notes requires about 2,700 more officers just to be fully staffed at ports of entry—by throwing significant cash incentives at agents (SEC. 5). The Commissioner of CBP can now offer:

• Recruitment Bonuses: Up to $15,000 for new hires who finish training and sign a contract.
• Retention Bonuses: Up to 15% of annual salary for agents who complete another year of service.
• Relocation Bonuses: Up to 15% of annual basic pay for agents who transfer to a new duty station and commit to staying for three years.

Here’s the catch for agents: The bill explicitly states that none of these bonuses count as “basic pay” when calculating retirement benefits or final payouts for unused vacation time. So, while the immediate cash incentive is great for agents struggling with high living costs, it won’t boost their long-term retirement security.

The Major Shift for Asylum Seekers

The most significant change for the immigration system is in Section 6, which deals with people arriving from contiguous territories (like Mexico or Canada). Currently, immigration officials have some discretion on how to handle these arrivals while they wait for their formal hearing. This bill removes that discretion.

Under the new rule, if an individual arrives from a contiguous territory, officials must take one of two actions while the person waits for their formal hearing: they must either detain the person for further review of their credible fear claim, or they must return the person to the bordering territory or a safe third country. This effectively eliminates the option for officials to release individuals into the U.S. to await their immigration court date. For asylum seekers, this means that the path to even starting the asylum process within the U.S. is severely restricted, leading to mandatory detention or immediate removal back across the border as their case proceeds through the massive, backlogged court system.