WASHINGTON D.C. –– House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), requesting a staff-level briefing on how the department plans to outlay the funding provided in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” to deliver a strong and secure border for years to come. 

In July, U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions at the Southwest border reached the lowest monthly total on record. The funding provided in congressional Republicans’ reconciliation package will allow DHS to continue reversing the historic Biden-Harris border crisis and secure the homeland––from completing the border barrier system to bolstering U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) workforce and investing in cutting-edge technology. It is vital, however, that the department has a strategic plan to deploy these resources over the next four years.

In the letter, the Chairmen write, “Nearly a month ago, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. OBBBA appropriated billions of dollars for the Department, which when disbursed over the next four years, will facilitate the administration’s efforts to secure the homeland. From completing the border barrier system, to reinvigorating and rebuilding the Department’s workforce, and investing in cutting-edge technology, the Department has an unprecedented opportunity to permanently secure our borders.”

The Chairmen continue,“We write today to understand how the Department plans to outlay this funding to deliver a strong and secure homeland for years to come. To aid the Committee in its oversight responsibilities, we respectfully request that you provide Committee staff with a briefing on the Department’s plan to disburse OBBBA funding, including planned fiscal year distributions, acquisitions, procurements, operational costs, modernization efforts, or otherwise pertinent information. We request this briefing as soon as possible but no later than August 22, 2025.”

Read the letter here.

Background:

The “One Big, Beautiful Bill” is providing long-overdue resources for CBP to:

• Complete the Border Barrier System: The bill allocates more than $46 billion to construct and finish the border barrier system, including 701 miles of primary wall, 900 miles of river barriers and 629 miles of secondary barriers, and replace 141 miles of vehicle and pedestrian barriers. 
• Reinvigorate and Rebuild the CBP Workforce: OBBBA investments include rebuilding a CBP workforce decimated by the Biden-Harris administration by funding 3,000 new Border Patrol agents, 5,000 new Customs and Border Protection officers, 200 new Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents, and 290 support staff.
• Invest in Cutting-Edge Border Technology: As our adversaries seek to exploit our sovereign borders, it is essential that we make strategic investments in the necessary border-security technology to counter the threats. The OBBBA invests in technology to help CBP interdict more fentanyl, deploy more border-surveillance technology, enhance AMO’s surveillance capabilities, and increase CBP’s use of the biometric entry and exit system. 

In July, the Committee released its newest “Border Brief” factsheet for June CBP data, which revealed there were only 6,072 Southwest border apprehensions. By contrast, during the Biden-Harris administration, Border Patrol apprehensions at the Southwest border exceeded 6,000 per day for an entire month 16 different times between Fiscal Years 2022-2024. Last week, preliminary CBP reporting for July revealed that Border Patrol apprehensions at the Southwest border hit another record low, reaching just 4,399 arrests for the entire month.

Read Subcommittee Chairman Guest’s newest op-ed in Newsweek, which outlines what congressional Republicans must do next to secure President Trump’s proven border-security victories—namely, codify his executive orders, investigate those responsible for the Biden border crisis, and ensure the nongovernmental organizations that helped facilitate the crisis are held accountable.

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