PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 13, 2025
Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade Facilitation Act of 2025 or the BEST Facilitation Act
This bill establishes a pilot program for positions within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to review inspection images of vehicles and cargo entering or exiting the United States.
Specifically, the bill establishes the position of image technician 1 within the CBP Office of Field Operations. An image technician must (1) review nonintrusive inspection images of vehicles and cargo entering or exiting the United States; (2) assess whether such vehicles and cargo contain contraband, illicit drugs, weapons, or persons seeking to unlawfully enter the United States; and (3) refer suspicious vehicles and cargo for further inspection by a CBP officer. These reviews must take place at one of five regional command centers established pursuant to this pilot program.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill also establishes the position of image technician 2 with additional responsibilities, including receiving and reporting intelligence to the National Targeting Center about techniques used by malign actors to transport contraband, illicit drugs, weapons, and persons seeking to unlawfully enter the United States.
Image technicians must be supervised by a supervisory CBP officer.
The bill establishes annual training requirements for both positions, including training on privacy and civil liberties and how to analyze inspection images.
This pilot program ends five years after the date of enactment of this bill. Individuals employed as image technicians at the end of the pilot program may transfer to comparable positions within CBP or the Department of Homeland Security.
People & committees
Rep. Ciscomani, Juan [R-AZ-6] · R–AZ
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement.
Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Mar 4, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-13 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would create a five-year pilot program for U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees to review scanning images of vehicles and containers crossing U.S. borders. Technicians would flag signs of concealed goods or unlawful crossings and recommend release or further inspection. Customs officers would keep final decision-making authority. The proposal would affect border inspection staff and the processing of vehicles and cargo; it does not establish that inspections would become faster or more effective.
reviewing non-intrusive inspection images of conveyances and containers entering or exiting the United States through a land, sea, or air port of entry or international rail crossing;
recommending further inspection of any conveyances and containers whenever the Image Technician reasonably believes that an image of any such item contains anomalies indicating the potential presence of contraband, persons seeking to unlawfully enter or exit the United States, or illicitly concealed merchandise, such as illicit drugs or terrorist weapons, to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who is responsible for inspecting such conveyance or container.
Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to affect the discretion and final decision-making authority given to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers to release conveyances or cargo for entry or exit or to refer such conveyances or cargo for further inspection.
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall cease to have effect on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Section 1 names the proposal the Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade Facilitation Act of 2025, or BEST Facilitation Act.
This Act may be cited as the Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade Facilitation Act of 2025 or the BEST Facilitation Act.
Section 2 would establish Image Technician 1 and Image Technician 2 positions in the Office of Field Operations under federal civil-service hiring, job classification, and pay rules.
There shall be in the Office of Field Operations, Image Technician 1 positions, which shall be filled in accordance with the provisions under chapter 33 (relating to appointments in the competitive service) and chapters 51 and 53 (relating to classification and rates of pay) of title 5, United States Code.
There shall be in the Office of Field Operations, Image Technician 2 positions, which shall be filled in accordance with the provisions under chapter 33 (relating to appointments in the competitive service) and chapters 51 and 53 (relating to classification and rates of pay) of title 5, United States Code.
Both technician roles could be filled by existing Customs and Border Protection employees. They would not be law enforcement officer positions, could not be filled by independent contractors, and would be assigned to regional command centers.
Image Technician 1 positions— (I) may be filled by existing U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees; (II) are not law enforcement officer positions; (III) may not be filled by independent contractors; and (IV) shall be assigned to a regional command center established under subparagraph (F).
Image Technician 2 positions— (I) may be filled by existing U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees; (II) are not law enforcement officer positions; (III) may not be filled by independent contractors; and (IV) shall be assigned to a regional command center established under subparagraph (F).
Image Technician 1 staff would review scanning images at land, sea, and air ports and international rail crossings. They would look for signs of prohibited goods, people seeking unlawful entry or exit, and illegally concealed merchandise. They would recommend release when no noticeable signs appear and further inspection when they reasonably believe such signs are present.
reviewing non-intrusive inspection images of conveyances and containers entering or exiting the United States through a land, sea, or air port of entry or international rail crossing;
recommending entry release or exit release for any conveyances and containers whenever the images of such items do not include noticeable anomalies indicating the potential presence of contraband, persons seeking to unlawfully enter or exit the United States, or illicitly concealed merchandise, including illicit drugs or terrorist weapons, to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer responsible for inspecting such conveyance or container;
recommending further inspection of any conveyances and containers whenever the Image Technician reasonably believes that an image of any such item contains anomalies indicating the potential presence of contraband, persons seeking to unlawfully enter or exit the United States, or illicitly concealed merchandise, such as illicit drugs or terrorist weapons, to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who is responsible for inspecting such conveyance or container.
Image Technician 2 staff would receive intelligence from, and report new information to, the National Targeting Center about methods used for unlawful border movements. Another duty clause refers to the conditions for Technician 1 positions rather than their listed duties, leaving that part of the role unclear.
The duties of an Image Technician 2 shall include— (I) carrying out all of the duties described in subclauses (I) through (IV) of subparagraph (A)(ii);
(ii) Conditions Image Technician 1 positions—
(II) receiving intelligence from the National Targeting Center regarding tactics, techniques, and procedures being used at ports of entry and in the border environment by malign actors to facilitate the unlawful entry or exit of contraband, persons, or illicitly concealed merchandise, such as illicit drugs or terrorist weapons; and (III) reporting new information to the National Targeting Center regarding tactics, techniques, and procedures being used at ports of entry and in the border environment by malign actors to facilitate the unlawful entry or exit of contraband, persons, or concealed merchandise, such as illicit drugs or terrorist weapons.
A supervisory Customs and Border Protection officer would oversee every image technician. Officers would retain discretion and final authority over release or further inspection, including decisions about entry and exit.
All image technicians shall be supervised by a Supervisory U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer.
Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to affect the discretion and final decision-making authority given to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers to release conveyances or cargo for entry or exit or to refer such conveyances or cargo for further inspection.
Technicians would receive annual training and additional training as current trends require. Topics would include privacy and civil rights, image analysis, identifying goods and concealed threats, and methods used for unlawful border movements. Supervising officers would also receive additional training.
All image technicians shall receive annual training and additional ad hoc training, to the extent necessary based on current trends, regarding— (i) respecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, including the protections against unreasonable searches and seizures afforded by the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, as applicable and as interpreted by the Federal courts;
(ii) analyzing images generated by non-intrusive inspection technologies or any successor technologies deployed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; (iii) identifying commodities and merchandise in images generated by non-intrusive inspection technologies or any successor technologies deployed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; (iv) identifying contraband, persons who are seeking to unlawfully enter or exit the United States, or illicitly concealed merchandise, such as illicit drugs or terrorist weapons, in images generated by non-intrusive technologies or any successor technologies deployed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; (v) tactics, techniques, and procedures being used at ports of entry and in the border environment by malign actors to facilitate the unlawful entry or exit of contraband, persons, or illicitly concealed merchandise, such as illicit drugs or terrorist weapons;
A Supervisory U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer who supervises image technicians shall receive additional training in accordance with subparagraph (D).
Annual tests would assess technicians' accuracy, speed of image analysis, and ability to recognize methods used for unlawful border movements.
All image technicians shall receive annual testing with respect to their— (i) accuracy in image analysis; (ii) timeliness in image analysis; and (iii) ability to ascertain tactics, techniques, and procedures being used at ports of entry and in the border environment by malign actors to facilitate the unlawful entry or exit of contraband, persons, or illicitly concealed merchandise, such as illicit drugs or terrorist weapons.
The Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations would have to establish five regional command centers at land, rail, air, and sea ports for technicians to review scanning images.
the Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations shall establish 5 regional command centers at land, rail, air, and sea ports in which image technicians shall review non-intrusive inspection images.
The amendment establishing the pilot would expire five years after enactment. When the pilot ends, technicians could transfer to comparable positions within Customs and Border Protection or the Department of Homeland Security; transfer would be permitted, not required.
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall cease to have effect on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Upon the termination of the pilot program established by section 411(g)(6) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection (a), individuals occupying Image Technician 1 or Image Technician 2 positions in the Office of Field Operations may transfer to comparable positions within U.S. Customs and Border Protection or the Department of Homeland Security.
Section 3 would require the Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, consulting with the Office of Field Operations leadership, to report to the specified Senate and House homeland security committees within 180 days after the first technician hiring and every 180 days afterward.
Not later than 180 days after the hiring of the first positions described in section 411(g)(6) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by section 2, and every 180 days thereafter, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in consultation with the Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations, shall submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives
Reports would cover hiring, staffing by location and technician level, daily image workload, training methods, and test passage rates.
(1) the number of Image Technician 1 and Image Technician 2 positions filled during the reporting period; (2) the number of Image Technician 1 and Image Technician 2 positions currently employed by the Office of Field Operations, disaggregated by— (A) port of entry or field office; (B) image technician position; and (C) command center, as applicable; (3) the daily average number of images scanned by each Image Technician 1 and each Image Technician 2; (4) training methodologies utilized to train image technicians; (5) assessment passage rates of image technicians;
Reports would assess changes in border detection and seizure rates, the amount of traffic processed, and waiting times at affected ports and rail crossings. They would also assess image-review capacity and compare technicians' effectiveness with officers assigned the same duties. These are required assessments, not findings that the pilot would improve results.
(6) the impact of image technicians on interdiction rates at ports of entry and international rail crossings at which image technicians are stationed or from which image technicians review images, including— (A) throughput increases or decreases at such ports of entry and international rail crossings; (B) increases or decreases in waiting times at such ports of entry and international rail crossings; (C) average wait times at such ports of entry and international rail crossings; and (D) increases or decreases of seizures of contraband, persons seeking to unlawfully enter or exit the United States, or illicitly concealed merchandise, such as illicit drugs or terrorist weapons, broken down by type of seizure and port of entry or international rail crossing;
(7) the impact of image technicians on U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s capability to review non-intrusive inspection images of conveyances and containers entering or exiting the United States through a land, sea, or air port of entry or international rail crossing; (8) an assessment of the effectiveness with which image technicians carry out the duties described in subparagraphs (A)(iii) and (B)(iii) of section 411(g)(6) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by section 2(a), compared to any U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who are assigned such duties.
Reports would also describe progress in establishing command centers, their infrastructure and resource needs, and the ports and rail crossings they support. The Executive Assistant Commissioner would brief the same congressional committees twice a year on the latest report.
(9) the progress made in establishing command centers under the pilot program established by such section; (10) any infrastructure or resource needs required to establish such command centers; and (11) the ports of entry and international rail crossing, as applicable, that are supported by such a command center.
The Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations shall provide biannual briefings to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives regarding the information described in the latest report submitted pursuant to subsection (a).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated March 4, 2026, records introduction in the House and referrals to the House Committee on Homeland Security and its Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement on February 13, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-03-04T02:18:23Z. 2025-02-13: Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement. 2025-02-13: Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security. 2025-02-13: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-13. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents or attachment history of other versions.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; earmark disclosures, requests, and accompanying reports were not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment warranting a finding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Mar 4, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI