Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, has introduced a bill to relocate Customs and Border Protection headquarters to his home state of Texas. If the bill were signed into law, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security would have until Jan. 1, 2026, to move the agency’s functions, personnel and assets to a not yet determined location in the Lone Star State.
Self said moving the headquarters will decentralize Washington bureaucracy, reduce costs to operate the CBP and bring the law enforcement agency closer to the front line of the border crisis.
The bill requires the secretary to work with the state of Texas to acquire land in an area “strategically placed” to address border security.
“Moving our CBP HQ to Texas is a practical step that will allow America’s Border Patrol agents to be on the ground at the critical point of the crisis,” Self said in a statement.
House Republicans are bringing multiple border and immigration measures forward in the first weeks of the new Congress. They say they want to fix the crisis they accuse President Biden and Democrats of creating.
It’s personal for Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., whose younger brother died from a fentanyl overdose.
“Luke wasn’t here because he was killed by fentanyl that was almost certainly manufactured in China and smuggled across our southern border,” McDowell said. “When I decided to run for Congress, I went and met with President Trump, and I told him, ‘Sir, I’m ready to get off the sidelines, and I’m ready to fight with your agenda to secure our border.’”
Democrats contend Republicans aren’t interested in real solutions, and want to keep immigration as a campaign issue. They point to the bipartisan border bill that Republicans shot down last year, in hopes that President-elect Donald Trump would be reelected so they could get a better deal.
“This is the Republican playbook over and over again — scare people about immigrants, never propose anything that actually solves an outdated and arcane immigration system that desperately needs Congress to allocate resources and update legal pathways,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said.
Republican leadership wants to move their biggest legislative priorities through the House by April 2025, including immigration and border measures.
