# 119-s-481: Securing our Border Act

119-s-481, Securing our Border Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (R-SC); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-481
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-481
- Congress: 119
- Title: Securing our Border Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-06
- Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (R-SC)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Reprograms unobligated IRS enforcement funds to pay for border security.** This bill would redirect existing unobligated balances into two dedicated border‑security streams, add pay incentives for Border Patrol officers, and change how some arrivals from contiguous territories are handled. - One-third of the reprogrammed balances would go to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to buy nonintrusive inspection systems and aim for a 100 percent nonintrusive scanning rate at all northern and southwest land ports of entry by Feb. 6, 2034. - Two-thirds of the balances would be transferred to the Department of Homeland Security for construction activities to build a border wall system along the southwest international border through Feb. 6, 2034. The Secretary of Homeland Security must provide quarterly reports with an implementation plan, benchmarks for stemming illegal immigration, and cost estimates for wall construction. - Customs and Border Protection could offer recruitment bonuses up to $15,000 to newly hired agents, annual retention bonuses up to 15 percent of basic pay, and relocation bonuses up to 15 percent of basic pay for transfers that require at least three years of service. Those bonuses may not count as basic pay for retirement or lump‑sum leave calculations. - The bill would amend immigration law so aliens arriving from contiguous territory must be returned to that contiguous territory or to a safe third country pending section 240 proceedings or detained while a credible fear determination is made.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK), 2025-02-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Cash bonuses for CBP agents: benefit, high. If enacted, CBP could pay a one-time recruitment bonus up to $15,000 to new agents after they finish basic training and sign a service agreement. It would allow annual retention bonuses up to 15% of an agent's basic pay after each year of satisfactory service. It would allow relocation bonuses up t…
- Require return or detention for immigrants: cost, medium. If enacted, officers must either return aliens arriving from a neighboring country to that country or to a safe third country while removal proceedings go forward, or detain them for further asylum review. Detention for asylum review must include a credible fear determination. This replaces languag…
- Redirect leftover border construction funds: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would move unobligated balances from a prior law into two border-security uses. One-third would go to CBP for nonintrusive inspection systems to aim for 100% scanning at all northern and southwest land ports of entry by February 6, 2034. Two-thirds would go to DHS for activitie…

## Related bills

- 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act
- 119-s-84: Sarah's Law
- 119-s-558: Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2025
- 119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025
- 119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-s-3697: SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-481 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/481)

## Related
- [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752)
- [119-s-84: Sarah's Law](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-84)
- [119-s-558: Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-558)
- [119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-186)
- [119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-6)
- [119-s-3697: SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3697)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-481 (as of 2025-12-21).