To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to relocate to the State of Texas the headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
H.R. 195, the "CBP Relocation Act," requires the Department of Homeland Security to move the entire headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from Washington, D.C. to somewhere in Texas by January 1, 2026. This includes relocating all CBP headquarters personnel, functions, and assets. The new Texas location must be strategically positioned to handle border crises along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Who Benefits and How
Texas benefits significantly through economic development. The state's commercial real estate developers and land sellers gain lucrative opportunities to sell land to the federal government for the new headquarters site. Texas construction companies and facility service providers will receive contracts to build and equip the new CBP headquarters complex. Local Texas communities near the new headquarters location benefit from thousands of federal jobs moving into the area, bringing increased economic activity, housing demand, and tax revenue. The bill specifically requires DHS to work with the Texas General Land Office, giving Texas state government direct involvement in site selection.
Who Bears the Burden and How
CBP headquarters employees face forced relocation from the Washington, D.C. area to Texas, disrupting their lives and potentially requiring them to sell homes, uproot families, and leave established communities. The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area economy loses thousands of well-paying federal jobs and the associated economic activity from federal workers living, shopping, and paying taxes in the region. Federal taxpayers bear the substantial costs of the entire relocation including purchasing Texas land, constructing new headquarters facilities, moving personnel and equipment, and potential severance for employees who resign rather than relocate. The Department of Homeland Security faces operational disruption during the transition period as critical border security leadership relocates.
Key Provisions
- Mandates CBP headquarters relocation to Texas by January 1, 2026, including all functions, personnel, and assets
- Requires the new Texas location to be strategically placed for managing border crises with Mexico
- Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to acquire land in Texas through written contracts
- Requires collaboration between DHS and the Texas General Land Office on site selection
- Requires all land titles to meet Attorney General standards for federal property acquisitions
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to relocate the headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the State of Texas by January 1, 2026.
Who Benefits
- State of Texas (economic development from federal presence)
- Texas real estate market (land acquisition, construction, support services)
- CBP field operations (potentially improved coordination with HQ closer to border)
Who Bears Costs
- CBP headquarters personnel (required relocation from DC area)
- Washington DC area economy (loss of federal jobs and economic activity)
- Federal government (costs of relocation, real estate acquisition, construction)
Key Policy Areas
Homeland Security, Border Security, Federal Facilities, Government Administration
Primary Purpose
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to relocate the headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the State of Texas by January 1, 2026.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Decentralize federal border operations by relocating CBP headquarters closer to the US-Mexico border, potentially improving operational efficiency and response times for border security"
Identified Gains
- State of Texas (economic development from federal presence)
- Texas real estate market (land acquisition, construction, support services)
- CBP field operations (potentially improved coordination with HQ closer to border)
- Local Texas communities (jobs, economic activity from relocated federal workers)
Identified Costs
- CBP headquarters personnel (required relocation from DC area)
- Washington DC area economy (loss of federal jobs and economic activity)
- Federal government (costs of relocation, real estate acquisition, construction)
- Taxpayers (funding the relocation effort)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Self introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
CBP headquarters personnel (required to relocate from DC area), Department of Homeland Security (operational disruption during relocation)
Texas commercial real estate developers and land sellers
Texas construction and facility services companies
Texas state and local governments (economic development benefits)
Washington DC area economy (loss of federal jobs and economic activity)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Moving the headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including the functions, personnel, and real assets of such headquarters, to the State of Texas
The relocation shall be strategically placed with respect to handling a crisis at the border between the United States and Mexico
Any title to land conveyed to the Secretary shall conform to the title approval standards of the Attorney General that are applicable to land acquisitions by the Federal Government
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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