To require annual reports on counter illicit cross-border tunnel operations, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Subterranean Border Defense Act amends section 7134(a)(2) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. That provision required reporting related to a strategic plan for countering illicit cross-border tunnels. This bill inserts the words "and annually thereafter" after the plan-development trigger, converting the reporting requirement from a one-time report into a recurring annual report.
The bill is narrow, but its practical effect is to keep Congress regularly informed on tunnel detection, interdiction, and disruption efforts along the border. Annual reporting can surface changes in illicit tunnel tactics, resource needs for subterranean surveillance, coordination between DHS components, and progress against tunnel networks used for drug trafficking, human smuggling, or other cross-border crime.
Who Benefits and How
House homeland-security overseers, Senate homeland-security overseers, Customs and Border Protection tunnel interdiction teams, Border Patrol sectors facing tunnel activity, border communities affected by smuggling tunnels, and federal planners buying tunnel-detection technology benefit because they receive recurring oversight data rather than a single snapshot of the strategic plan.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection reporting staff, Border Patrol tunnel-response units, DHS intelligence analysts, DHS technology offices, and counter-tunnel program managers must gather annual information, assess operations, document progress, and support repeated congressional reporting.
Key Provisions
- Amends the fiscal year 2023 NDAA counter illicit cross-border tunnel reporting requirement.
- Requires annual reports after development of the strategic plan.
- Extends congressional visibility into tunnel detection, interdiction, and disruption operations.
- Supports recurring oversight of DHS subterranean border defense planning.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Makes DHS reporting on the counter illicit cross-border tunnel strategic plan annual by amending the fiscal year 2023 NDAA requirement to add reports every year after the plan is developed.
Key Policy Areas
Border Security, Homeland Security, Congressional Oversight
Primary Purpose
Makes DHS reporting on the counter illicit cross-border tunnel strategic plan annual by amending the fiscal year 2023 NDAA requirement to add reports every year after the plan is developed.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- House homeland-security overseers
- Senate homeland-security overseers
- Customs and Border Protection tunnel interdiction teams
- Border Patrol sectors facing tunnel activity
- Border communities affected by smuggling tunnels
- Federal planners buying tunnel-detection technology
Identified Costs
- Department of Homeland Security
- Customs and Border Protection reporting staff
- Border Patrol tunnel-response units
- DHS intelligence analysts
- DHS technology offices
- Counter-tunnel program managers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Mr. Crane (for himself, Mr. Correa, Mr. Biggs of Arizona, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Border Patrol sectors facing tunnel activity, Counter-tunnel program managers, Customs and Border Protection tunnel interdiction teams
Positive-direction: Border Patrol sectors facing tunnel activity, Customs and Border Protection tunnel interdiction teams, House homeland-security overseers, Senate homeland-security overseers
Negative-direction: Counter-tunnel program managers, DHS intelligence analysts, Department of Homeland Security
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "cbp"
- → Customs and Border Protection
- "dhs"
- → Department of Homeland Security
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.
Learn more about our methodology