PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 6, 2020
Border Visibility and Security Act
This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to install surveillance technology and take other actions with respect to the U.S.-Mexico border.
DHS shall deploy the most practical and effective technology available to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the border. Such technology may include radar surveillance systems, tunnel detection technology, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
DHS is authorized to waive legal requirements as necessary in order to implement the necessary surveillance technology along the border.
DHS shall also (1) construct a navigable road along at least 700 miles of the southwest border, (2) permanently eradicate certain foliage that grows along the Rio Grande river, and (3) report to Congress a comprehensive strategy about the barriers and technologies needed to secure operational control along the border.
Drug cartel funds that have been criminally forfeited to the U.S. government shall be reserved for security measures along the U.S.-Mexico border.
People & committees
Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21] · R–TX
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 Immigration and Citizenship.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations.
Referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 3, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.5793 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.5793 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.5793 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.5793 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.