H.R. 76 — Fund and Complete the Border Wall Act

This section establishes the Secure the Southern Border Fund as a new account in the Treasury (at 31 U.S.C. §3344), to be created by the Secretary of the Treasury not later than 60 days after enactment, with funds deposited pursuant to the Fund and Complete the Border Wall Act. Such funds are appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security, available until expended, solely to (1) plan, design, construct, or maintain a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border and (2) purchase and maintain vehicles and equipment for U.S. Border Patrol agents, with no more than 5% usable for purpose (2).

This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, beginning with the first fiscal year after enactment, to report within 30 days after the end of each fiscal year to the Secretary of State and the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate (1) the number of apprehensions during that fiscal year of aliens who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico land border and (2) their nationalities. It further directs the Secretary of State to proportionately reduce federal financial assistance to each foreign country by $2,000 for each such alien who is a citizen or national of that country (excepting, at the Secretary's option, certain funds to Mexico including the International Military Education and Training Fund, International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Fund, and nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs). Finally, it requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretaries of Homeland Security and the Treasury, to transfer the withheld funds to the Secure the Southern Border Fund established by section 2.

This section amends the remittance transfer provisions of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o–1)—which regulate international consumer money transfers (i.e., electronic fund transfers from a sender in the United States to a recipient abroad)—to require remittance transfer providers to collect from senders a fee equal to 5% of the U.S. dollar amount of any such transfer to a recipient outside the United States. The Secretary of the Treasury must develop and make available, not later than 90 days after enactment and in consultation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and providers, a system for remitting the collected fees to the Secure the Southern Border Fund (31 U.S.C. 3344). It further establishes penalties for persons who intentionally evade the fee—including, for those with knowledge that funds will be further transferred abroad, fines up to $500,000 or twice the transfer value (whichever greater), imprisonment up to 20 years, or both—and renders any foreign country determined to aid such evasion ineligible for U.S. foreign assistance or visa waiver program participation, at the discretion of the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Treasury, and State.

This section increases the fee for processing U.S. Customs and Border Protection Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) to $25 (from $6) and directs disposition of collected fees, notwithstanding any other law including INA §286(q) (8 U.S.C. 1356(q)), as follows: (1) $6 deposited in the Land Border Inspection Fee Account for land border inspections; (2) $10, to the extent provided in advance in appropriations acts, used for U.S. Border Patrol agent salaries; and (3) $9 deposited in the Secure the Southern Border Fund.

This section revises Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) concerning border barriers along the U.S.-Mexico international land border. (1) It requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to design, test, construct, and install physical barriers, roads, and technology to prevent illegal crossings in all areas, including removal of detection obstacles, by December 31, 2025. (2) It mandates construction of physical barriers—including secondary barriers where fencing exists—to prevent illegal entry and achieve operational control of the border (as defined in the Secure Fence Act of 2006); requires pre-construction consultation with the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, relevant governments, and private landowners to minimize environmental, cultural, commerce, and quality-of-life impacts; requires notification to specified congressional committees within 60 days of barrier-type determinations; and exempts preexisting geographical barriers or impenetrable walls, with committee notification within 30 days. (3) It replaces references to the Attorney General with the Secretary of Homeland Security and terms such as "fences" or "additional fencing" with "physical barriers and roads." (4) It authorizes the Secretary, in the Secretary's sole discretion, to waive all legal requirements necessary for expeditious design, testing, construction, installation, deployment, operation, and maintenance of such barriers, roads, and technology, with waivers effective upon Federal Register publication. This section also extends the deadline for achieving operational control of the U.S. border under the Secure Fence Act of 2006 to December 31, 2025 (from 18 months after enactment of that Act).

This section establishes special overtime compensation rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Border Patrol agents (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5550), permitting public agencies to employ such agents up to 100 hours in a 14-consecutive-day work period with overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular rate required only for hours 81 through 100 (from the standard 40 hours per workweek under FLSA section 7(a)). Such payments are in addition to any overtime payments under 5 U.S.C. 5550 and made notwithstanding applicable federal pay limitations therein. It also makes a conforming amendment to FLSA exemptions by striking paragraph (18) of section 13(a) (29 U.S.C. 213(a)) and redesignating paragraph (19) as paragraph (18).

This section establishes a severability clause, providing that the invalidity of any provision of the Act or its amendments—or its application to any person or circumstance—does not affect the remainder of the Act or the application of its remaining provisions to other persons or circumstances.