en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Secure America Act by a vote of 214 to 212, allocating $3.45 billion for border security technology projects under U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and requiring the deployment of 434 large-scale inspection systems nationwide.
The bill has been sent to President Donald Trump. The funding will be used to procure and integrate new non-intrusive inspection equipment and related civil engineering works, including road modifications, utility installations, and command center construction, aimed at combating drug trafficking at ports of entry and border areas.
The Secure America Act also provides funding through fiscal year 2029 for upgrades to border surveillance technology, biometric entry-exit systems, and air and maritime operations. Additionally, the bill allocates $31.1 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities, covering facility maintenance, fleet upkeep, information technology systems, and operational support.
The legislation does not directly allocate funds for new border wall construction or major standalone building projects. However, a September 2025 review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that the deployment of inspection technology involves significant physical infrastructure requirements, including site planning, civil engineering design, construction, equipment installation, and testing, with specific tasks potentially including concrete pouring and electrical conduit installation.
An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicates that many land ports of entry require capital improvements before installing large-scale scanning systems, such as roadwork and new facility construction, with these improvements estimated to cost approximately $98 million.
Since 2019, CBP has received over $2 billion for inspection programs aimed at deploying more scanning systems at land ports of entry to screen passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, and rail shipments for contraband. Deployments have been carried out at ports including Calexico East and Otay Mesa in California; Nogales and San Luis in Arizona; Santa Teresa in New Mexico; and El Paso, Laredo, Hidalgo, Pharr, Brownsville, Eagle Pass, and Islata in Texas.
Deployment costs have become a significant driver. GAO found that installation costs for certain commercial vehicle scanning systems have risen from initial estimates of approximately $1.3 million per unit to over $4 million due to construction challenges and site conditions. Additionally, space constraints exist at busy ports such as San Ysidro and Otay Mesa in California and Nogales Deconcini in Arizona, where CBP has not yet determined how to install large-scale scanning systems.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) criticized the bill for wasting $70 billion in taxpayer funds, giving ICE a blank check, and lacking oversight and accountability. Democrats unanimously opposed the measure.
According to GAO data, as of February 2025, CBP had deployed 52 of the planned 153 large-scale inspection systems, with the remaining 101 still in the planning, design, or construction phases.
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