Rep. McSally introduces bill to require DHS threat assessment for southwest border

A bill that directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct a full mile-by-mile analysis of threats to the nation’s southern international border with Mexico was recently introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ).

The bill, titled the Southwest Border Security Threat Assessment Act, requires DHS to conduct a new southwest border threat analysis within 180 days of the bill becoming law and mandates that accurate assessments be made of both current and potential threats that the nation faces as well as what steps need to be taken to counter them.

Additionally, the legislation requires the U.S. Border Patrol to design a new strategic plan that takes into account the DHS threat assessment.

“DHS’s current state of situational awareness along the border is inadequate and they certainly have not achieved anything close to operational control,” McSally said. “In order for our nation to effectively secure the border, we must first assess the threats that exist, understand and identify the gaps in our defenses and then develop a plan to address those gaps with a blend of more manpower, technology, and infrastructure.”

In enacted, the assessment would be the first mile-by-mile threat examination along the border in more than 20 years, with the last analysis conducted in 1993.