H.R. 673 — ICE Security Reform Act of 2025

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to transfer Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)—the criminal investigations component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responsible for transnational crimes such as human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and financial crimes—from ICE to a separate entity within the Department of Homeland Security not later than two years after enactment of this Act. The section (1) establishes a Director of HSI to be appointed by the President with Senate confirmation; (2) provides for a Chief Counsel to advise the Director on HSI legal matters, while clarifying that ICE's existing Chief Counsel retains responsibility for non-HSI matters; (3) retains HSI's pre-enactment functions; (4) requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, to issue updated HSI investigative guidelines within two years that address national priorities, surveillance technologies, and protection of sensitive information; (5) directs a joint Secretary-Attorney General review within two years of those guidelines and HSI's role relative to other federal law enforcement agencies, including a memorandum of agreement evaluating overlaps in areas such as transnational crime, intellectual property rights, human trafficking, online child sexual exploitation, narcotics, and financial crimes; and (6) requires semiannual progress reports to the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees until the transfer is complete.

This section redesignates U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as U.S. Immigration Compliance Enforcement, effective on and after the date of a transfer under section 2(a). The section establishes a Director of U.S. Immigration Compliance Enforcement at the head of the agency, to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and deems all references in federal laws, executive orders, rules, regulations, or documents to the prior agency name, its head, or transferred functions to refer to the new agency name, head, or receiving entity.

This section authorizes a federal official to whom a function is transferred by this Act to exercise all authorities under other laws previously available to the official responsible for that function immediately before the transfer, including authority granted by another law enforcement agency to Homeland Security Investigations in accordance with a formal designation such as a memorandum of understanding.

This section establishes standard savings provisions for functions transferred by the Act, including (1) continuing in effect all preexisting legal documents such as orders, permits, grants, contracts, and licenses issued under transferred functions; (2) preserving pending proceedings and applications for benefits, services, or assistance; (3) maintaining suits commenced before enactment without abatement and substituting successor officers as parties; and (4) retaining applicable requirements for notice, hearings, and administrative or judicial review.

This section transfers to the relevant official or agency the personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, available, or to be made available in connection with functions transferred by this Act, as directed by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

This section authorizes officials to whom functions are transferred under this Act—including heads of offices receiving such functions—to delegate those functions to designated officers and employees within their office and to authorize successive redelegations as necessary or appropriate (except as otherwise prohibited by law or provided in this Act). No such delegation relieves the transferring official of responsibility for administering the functions.

This section authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to determine functions transferred under this Act and to make incidental dispositions of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, contracts, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations and other funds associated with those functions. It further directs the Director to terminate the affairs of all entities terminated by this Act and to take additional measures necessary to effectuate the Act.

This section makes existing appropriations for functions, programs, and activities terminated by this Act available, for their original period of availability, to cover necessary expenses associated with their termination and resolution.

This section defines, for purposes of this Act, (1) the term "function" to include any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity, or program; and (2) the term "office" to include any office, administration, agency, bureau, institute, council, unit, organizational entity, or component thereof.