Keeping Our Agents on the Line Act
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
This bill restricts U.S. Border Patrol operations to within 25 miles of international land borders or territorial seas -- a significant reduction from the current 100-mile zone established by regulation. Border Patrol agents would be prohibited from exercising immigration enforcement authority beyond this distance, with only two narrow exceptions: responding to a lawful request from state or local officials during a life-threatening emergency, or during a presidentially declared major disaster. The bill also mandates extensive public reporting by CBP on checkpoint performance, the number of agents operating in interior areas, their Fourth Amendment training, and the outcome of every interior interaction.
Who Benefits and How
U.S. citizens and residents living in interior areas who have been subject to Border Patrol stops and arrests benefit from clear geographic limits on Border Patrol authority. Immigrant communities in interior cities gain protection from Border Patrol operations that the bill characterizes as duplicating ICE functions without adequate training. The transparency requirements give Congress, media, and the public visibility into checkpoint effectiveness and interior enforcement activity.
Who Bears the Burden and How
U.S. Border Patrol loses its current nationwide interior arrest authority and must return agents to border-area duties. CBP faces significant new reporting and data collection mandates, including establishing checkpoint performance models, internal controls for data accuracy, and publicly reporting on every interior interaction disaggregated by citizenship status -- all within 30 to 90 days of enactment. Interior immigration enforcement capability would be reduced, with only ICE retaining that authority.
Key Provisions
- Defines "reasonable distance" as 25 miles from any land border or territorial sea (down from current 100-mile regulatory zone)
- Prohibits Border Patrol from exercising Section 287 immigration authority beyond 25 miles
- Allows exceptions only for life-threatening emergencies or presidential disaster declarations
- Requires CBP to report within 30 days on agents operating in the interior and their training
- Mandates public checkpoint performance data and disaggregated encounter statistics
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
Restricts U.S. Border Patrol operations to within 25 miles of international land borders, prohibiting interior enforcement activities, and requires public reporting on checkpoint performance and interior operations
Key Policy Areas
Immigration, Civil Liberties, Law Enforcement
Primary Purpose
Restricts U.S. Border Patrol operations to within 25 miles of international land borders, prohibiting interior enforcement activities, and requires public reporting on checkpoint performance and interior operations
Policy Domains
Checkpoint and Arrest Data Reporting
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Congress and oversight bodies
- Public and media
- Civil liberties advocates
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (reporting burden)
- U.S. Border Patrol agents (documentation requirements)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Border Patrol Geographic Limitation
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- U.S. citizens and residents in interior areas subject to Border Patrol stops
- Immigrant communities in interior U.S. cities
- Civil liberties organizations
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- U.S. Border Patrol agents currently operating in interior
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Immigration enforcement operations beyond 25 miles from border
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Murphy (for himself and Mr. Schiff) introduced the following …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security …
Introduced in Senate
Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "border_patrol"
- → U.S. Border Patrol immigration officers and employees
- "cbp_commissioner"
- → Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Any employee, contractor, or detailee who performs services for U.S. Border Patrol
A distance not greater than 25 miles from any United States international land border or territorial sea
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