TheBorder Weather Resiliency Actrequires Customs and Border Protection to create a strategy to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Senator John Cornyn (Texas) introduced the Border Weather Resiliency Act – legislation requiring Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to create a strategy to protect personnel and agency infrastructure from extreme weather, such as record-breaking heat waves – enhancing morale, agency effectiveness, and saving taxpayer dollars by bolstering infrastructure resilience. U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) are original cosponsors of the legislation.
“We are identifying real solutions to address and mitigate the risks of extreme weather impacting our Customs and Border Protection personnel and the infrastructure that keeps our communities safe and fuels our economy,” said Sinema, Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee and member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
“Customs and Border Protection officers and Border Patrol agents put their lives on the line every day in weather conditions ranging from grueling heat waves, historic downpours, to freezing temperatures,” said Cornyn. “With a record number of crossings over the last few years stretching resources thin, they must identify ways to better protect officers and agents from harsh weather conditions at the border, and this bill would direct them to do just that.”
“Severe weather events are becoming stronger and more frequent every year. This legislation will help us better understand how these events impact Customs and Border Protection personnel who are securing our northern and southern borders. This information will improve our infrastructure and technology, ensure our border security professionals are able to do their jobs more safely, and identify what resources will be needed in the future. I look forward to working with Senator Sinema toward its passage,” said Peters.
“Northern border states like North Dakota know firsthand how severe snowstorms can hamstring local communities,” said Cramer. “But whether it is a blizzard up North or extreme heat in the South, the Customs and Border Patrol have a vital mission that cannot afford to fail. I joined my colleagues in introducing the Border Weather Resiliency Act, which takes a proactive approach to support Border Patrol agents as they prepare and respond to severe weather events.”
“I want to thank Senators Sinema, Peters, Cornyn and Cramer for introducing this legislation. Border Patrol Agents work in some of the most challenging environments in this country as evidenced by the line of duty death of Border Patrol Agent Johan Mordan in 2020. Agent Mordan, who was only 26 at the time of his death, died of heat exhaustion while patrolling on foot in New Mexico. This legislation requires CBP, with input from the National Border Patrol Council, to develop a strategy for how we protect our border, our agents, and those we apprehend illegally entering our country given an ever-increasing threat from hazardous weather. I urge Congress to quickly pass this legislation,” said Paul Perez, National President of the National Border Patrol Council.
“Exposure to the elements is a daily fact of life for CBP employees at the nation’s ports of entry, which is why NTEU strongly supports the Border Weather Resiliency Act to update the agency’s safety protocols and find new ways to mitigate the impact of hazardous weather. Senators Sinema, Peters, Cornyn, and Cramer are to be commended for channeling their concern for the well-being of our federal workforce into real action that can keep these public servants safe when the weather turns extreme along the Northern and Southern border, in particular. CBP’s Office of Field Operations personnel are professionally trained to keep our country safe from harm, and we should do the same for them,” said Doreen Greenwald, National President of the National Treasury Employees Union.
The Border Weather Resiliency Act requires CBP to conduct an assessment and submit a strategy to mitigate the impacts of increasingly extreme and frequent weather on CBP personnel, infrastructure, technology, vehicles, and other assets.
Last year was the hottest on record, with Arizona seeing record temperatures during the summer months. Unlawful crossings have skyrocketed on both the northern and southern borders and CBP officers and U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents spend more time outside managing this influx in increasingly severe weather conditions – putting their health and safety at risk.
Additionally, extreme weather impacts agency technology, infrastructure, and other assets. In 2023, the U.S. experienced a record 28 separate weather disasters, each resulting in at least $1 billion in damages. A 2021 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that during the prior five years, the federal government spent billions of dollars to repair federal property damage resulting from natural disasters. While CBP has taken steps to respond to extreme weather, the agency does not currently have a unified strategy to address and mitigate non-heat-related extreme weather risks nor has it updated its manuals and protocols accordingly.