Border Security Plan

Under the leadership of President Donald Trump and NY-24 resident Border Czar Tom Homan, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other federal agencies have taken immediate action to stop illegal immigration, drug and weapons trafficking, and criminal gang activity from entering our communities. Through this coordination, federal agencies have created a deterrent effect, reducing illegal entries to historic lows.

Under former President Biden’s administration, over 10 million illegal aliens entered our country without vetting or background checks, creating the worst humanitarian crisis our nation has faced in more than two decades. Every year the Biden administration set new records for illegal border crossings. During the first year of President Trump’s second term, we secured our border, apprehended and deported thousands of criminal illegal aliens, and worked to safeguard our communities against dangerous fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking. Congress successfully passed H.R. 1, which allocated billions of dollars to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to hire more officers and complete the border wall.

Unfortunately, Governor Kathy Hochul and Albany Democrats have sought to restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. New York State’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Enacted Budget, signed by Governor Hochul, prohibits local law enforcement agencies from entering into or renewing 287(g) agreements with ICE. Cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies is essential to keeping New Yorkers safe, which is why I condemned this harmful action by Governor Hochul. Additionally, I urged Governor Hochul to reverse the State’s decision not to apply for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's State Border Security Reinforcement Fund (SBSRF), which provides reimbursement for expenses made by States to detect illicit drugs, combat human trafficking, apprehend illegal aliens, and strengthen public safety along the border.

I am supporting a comprehensive approach to prevent the return of former President Biden’s failed policies while strengthening President Trump's efforts to ensure border security and protect our communities. This plan is based on my visits to the Southern and Northern Borders, conversations with CBP, and my work with Border Czar Tom Homan. This plan incorporates three vital themes: Securing Our Borders, Prioritizing America First, and Upholding the Rule of Law. It also builds on the successful passage of the Laken Riley Act, which allows DHS to detain criminal illegal aliens. Securing our border is a national security and humanitarian imperative.

Securing our Borders

• Voted to Pass S. 2, the Secure America Act: On June 9, 2026, I voted to pass this historic bill that provided nearly $70 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and other related programs through Fiscal Year (FY) 2029. Americans deserve a safe, secure border, and President Trump has made incredible progress restoring order at the border. While Democrats fought to fully defund CBP and ICE, House Republicans ensured that both agencies were fully funded to allow them to continue their important work. The Secure America Act gave our frontline law enforcement officers the resources they need to keep our borders secure, stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities, and enforce our nation's immigration laws.
• Introduced H.R. 374, the DIRECT Act: This bill would defund the tens of billions of dollars that Democrats gave the IRS to go after average Americans and redirect those funds to hire more CBP agents on the border. This legislation will realign the federal government’s spending priorities and provide even more resources to CBP to ensure it has all the resources it needs to secure our border. It ensures that American taxpayer dollars are used to protect and defend the American people, not attack middle-class families.
• Cosponsored H.R. 3891, the Northern Border Security and Staffing Reform Act: This legislation requires DHS to submit a comprehensive Northern Border Threat Analysis to Congress every five years that would look at the top threats facing our Northern Border security. This bill would also address staffing challenges along the Northern Border to ensure law enforcement has the resources needs. This will enhance transparency and support our mission to protect our communities from criminal gangs, illicit drugs, and illegal human trafficking along our Northern Border.
• Cosponsored H.R. 1569, the CATCH Fentanyl Act: This legislation establishes a pilot program dedicated to improving the inspection of modes of transportation at land ports of entry along U.S. borders to detect contraband, illegal drugs like fentanyl, and illegal weapons. The pilot projects would evaluate new technologies that can help secure our borders. Expanding effective detection technology at border crossings would strengthen our efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis that has devastated families across the country.
• Cosponsored H.R. 5518, the Integrated Cross-Border Law Enforcement Operations Expansion Act: This bill would expand the authority of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to enter into agreements with Canada to conduct integrated cross-border law enforcement operations. Criminal organizations exploit the international border to traffic illegal drugs, weapons, and other contraband, making close cooperation between U.S. and Canadian law enforcement essential to public safety. 

Prioritizing America First

• Cosponsored and Voted to support H.R. 1958, the Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026: This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to explicitly provide that aliens convicted of defrauding the United States or unlawfully receiving public benefits are subject to inadmissibility and deportation. We have seen how widespread and organized fraud schemes can become when oversight fails, and the American people deserve accountability. This bill puts American citizens and legal residents first. 
• Cosponsored H.R. 30, the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act: This bill closes loopholes in current immigration laws and reaffirms the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance policy toward criminal behavior perpetrated by illegal aliens. This ensures that any alien convicted of sex offenses or domestic violence is inadmissible and deportable. No illegal alien who commits such a heinous act should be allowed to remain in the United States. 
• Cosponsored H.R. 175, the Deport Alien Gang Members Act: This legislation makes illegal aliens associated with criminal gangs inadmissible for entry into the United States, as well as deportable. It also enables the Department of Homeland Security to designate groups that are public safety threats as gangs. This is commonsense legislation that will prevent further violence and harm committed by illegal alien gang members. 
• Cosponsored H.R. 7612, the End Sanctuary Cities Act of 2026: This bill would impose federal criminal penalties on state or local officials who knowingly prohibit, limit, or restrict compliance with formal DHS requests for notice of the release of certain criminal aliens. Penalties would vary based on the offense with which the released alien was charged or convicted. This legislation would hold officials accountable when their policies block cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Upholding the Rule of Law

• Introduced H.R. 203, the Red Light Act: This bill withholds federal transportation funding from states that enact laws to provide driver's licenses or identification cards to illegal immigrants in the United States. In 2019, New York's Green Light Law took effect, allowing anyone age 16 or older, including illegal immigrants, to obtain a New York State driver's license. In just the first month after New York's Green Light Law took effect, more than 50,000 illegal immigrants received a New York State driver's license. This legislation would ensure that states that undermine federal immigration enforcement are not rewarded with federal highway funding.
• Cosponsored and Voted to Support H.R. 35, the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act: This bill would create new penalties for illegal aliens fleeing U.S. Border Patrol or law enforcement by operating a motor vehicle within 100 miles of our borders. This bill also would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain certain removable aliens who are charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admit to committing an offense while operating a motor vehicle that results in the assault, serious bodily injury, or death of a law enforcement officer. Any illegal alien who flees our immigration authorities or injures them during their evasion should immediately be deported and deemed inadmissible.
• Cosponsored H.R. 32, the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act: This legislation deems a state or locality ineligible for any federal funds that will benefit illegal immigrants if it does not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Sanctuary cities have proven to be a serious threat to the safety of American citizens, and this will ensure that jurisdictions cooperate with President Trump’s effective immigration policies or risk federal financial assistance.
• Cosponsored H.R. 9382, the NEXUS for Families Act: This legislation requires CBP to allow eligible family members to link their applications to be processed more easily. These families will be able to schedule NEXUS interviews more easily, and CBP is authorized to exempt children under 14 from the interview requirement. This bill reduces unnecessary obstacles families face and streamlines the process by allowing CBP to link family applications.  
• Cosponsored H.R. 31, the POLICE Act of 2025: This bill amends existing law to specifically state that assaulting first responders by an illegal immigrant is a deportable offense. We must ensure that any illegal alien who assaults a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or other first responder is not permitted to remain in our country.
   

Your views are very important to me. I hope you will take the time to review this plan and let me know what you think. If you would like to contact me, you can write to me on my website at tenney.house.gov or call my office at 202-225-3665 with feedback, questions, or concerns.