SMART Border Technology Should Have Bipartisan Support

Washington, D.C.– Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), along with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and others, this week introduced the “Secure Miles with All Resources and Technology Act,” or SMART Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to consider and use appropriate technologies, as well as infrastructure, in securing the land and maritime borders of the United States. The following is a statement by Bipartisan Policy Center President Jason Grumet on this bill:

“Congressman Hurd, whose district includes more miles of the border than any other member of Congress, understands that building walls or fences alone is not an effective solution to illegal immigration or drug smuggling on our southern border. We must combine physical infrastructure with sophisticated technology that is appropriate for each border sector. There is no ‘one-size’ solution. The U.S.-Mexican border runs through mountains and cities, rivers and lakes, deserts and private property, and Native American and federal lands. DHS needs the flexibility to find the best solutions for each mile of the border both to improve security and to be the most efficient use of taxpayer resources.

Securing the border and measuring our progress is a necessary precondition to returning to an evidence-based bipartisan conversation on immigration reform.

“Securing the border and measuring our progress is a necessary precondition to returning to an evidence-based bipartisan conversation on immigration reform. As the House Homeland Security Committee, under chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), considers broader legislation, we believe that bipartisan efforts like Hurd’s are essential to designing a broad-based and effective solution.”