U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a Department of Homeland Security entity, has asked Congress for $18.2 billion to fund operations in fiscal 2020, making it the agency’s biggest annual request for discretionary funds.
In addition to the $18.2 billion ask, CBP asked to use $2.6 billion from fees its customs officers have acquired, for a total proposed budget of $20.8 billion. In fiscal 2019, the White House asked for $14.4 billion.
CBP Deputy Commissioner Robert E. Perez testified Thursday afternoon before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations that next year’s budget increase was due, in part, to record-high travel and trade levels, as well as a spike in illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border. Both issues mandated more spending on personnel and resources.
In fiscal 2018, CBP interacted with nearly 414 million travelers at airports, seaports, and land ports of entry — up 4% from the previous year. Seven months into fiscal 2019, Border Patrol agents have taken into custody 460,000 people at the southern border compared to around 400,000 in all of the previous year.
[Read more: New York Times editorial board tells Congress to ‘give Trump his border money’]
The proposed budget funds the agency’s four main focuses: trade and travel, border security, counterterrorism, and organizational objectives. Border security is expected to eat up one-quarter of the total budget.
Here’s a breakdown of how it wants to spend some of that money:
Along the Border
$82.2 million: Facilities, medical care, transportation, and food for those in custody — on top of $415 million given in FY 2019.
$20.6 million: Procurement of 8,900 Unattended Ground Sensors to track and notify agents of human, vehicular, and tunneling activity.
$1.1 million: Procurement and deployment of Integrated Fixed Tower technology or surveillance radars and electro-optical/infrared cameras that are installed on fixed towers and can be manned from control centers or automatically notify headquarters of activity.
$16.7 million: Acquiring and maintaining 50 drones, known as small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Border Patrol plans to use them to surveil remote parts of the borders.
$3.2 million: Cross Border Tunnel Threat program, which helps CBP predict where new tunnels may be dug, detect others, and project where those being constructed are starting and ending.
$58.6 million: Upgrading and maintaining Border Patrol’s Remote Video Surveillance System with an additional 14 stand-alone towers on the border from the current eight in use. The new ones will be installed near Brownsville, Texas, and Fort Brown, Texas.
Personnel/Equipment
$19.4 million: Replacing the 95% of CBP service handguns that are expected to exceed their service lifespan in 2019. CBP will purchased 9 mm duty handguns, ammunition, replacement parts, and holsters.
$8.9 million: The acquisition of devices that can test narcotics; overdose resuscitation kits; chemical analysis software; officer training for how to use the devices.
$164.5 million: Hire, train, equip 750 additional Border Patrol agents and 145 mission support personnel.
Border Infrastructure
$8.6 billion: 200 miles of new steel bollard border fence, including the real estate and environmental planning, land acquisition, wall system design, construction, and construction oversight.
$127.4 million: Construction, modernization, and expansion of Border Patrol’s Air and Marine Operations and Office of Field Operations facilities, including Border Patrol checkpoints in Freer, Texas; Carrizo Springs, Texas; Eagle Pass, Texas.
$14.8 million: Improvements, furniture, fixtures, and equipment at CBP facilities.
$62.6 million: 20 large-scale and 200 small-scale nonintrusive inspection systems at ports, which scan trucks and vehicles without making physical contact.
Air/Sea
$22.4 million: Expanding CBP operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where facial recognition technology is being rolled out.
$56.8 million: Two aircraft capable of flying surveillance operations on the southern and northern borders.
$46.5 million: Converting three Army HH-60L helicopters to CBP’s UH-60 Medium Lift Helicopter configuration.
$13.5 million: Replace up to 10 outdated aircraft sensor systems with better detection capabilities.
$14.8 million: Procurement of 14 Coastal Interceptor Vessels for air and marine agents.
