Ciscomani asks CBP to update Border Patrol stations, checkpoints in So. Ariz. as part of new spending

U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani urged U.S. Customs and Border Protection to send millions to Southern Arizona for border infrastructure, vehicles, and surveillance systems—part of the larger $64 billion earmarked for border security as part of this summer’s spending bill. 

In a letter to CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, Ciscomani asked for funding to Southern Arizona created as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

While the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”slashed large chunks of federal spending—while potentially widening the overall deficit by around $3.4 trillion over 10 years—the bill also included $165 billion for the Department of Homeland Security.

This includes $46.5 billion for border wall construction, $12 billion to reimburse Texas and other states for border security efforts, as well as $4.1 billion to hire more CBP personnel—including 3,000 customs officers and 3,000 Border patrol agents.

The bill also includes $3.2 billion for new technology and $2.7 billion for new “cutting-edge” border surveillance, DHS officials said.

The bill also includes $855 million to expand CBP’s vehicle fleet.

“While at home in Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District this month, my staff and I have had the opportunity to visit with local U.S. Customs and Border Protection leadership to discuss the highest local priority needs,” Ciscomani said. “As a result of these conversations, I write today to urge your agency to fund critical projects in Arizona which I believe will make our state and nation stronger and the border more secure.”

In his letter, Ciscomani asked for a portion of nearly $5 billion earmarked for facilities across the Tucson Sector, which covers about 262 miles of the Arizona-Mexico border from the Yuma County line to New Mexico. The sector has nine stations, and a few forward operating bases in the state, and hosts around 3,700 Border Patrol agents.

Ciscomani asked CBP to update the station near Three Points which “is a temporary facility in dire need” of a permanent structure for Border Patrol agents. He also sought funding for the Casa Grande station “which is currently two separate facilities and in need of consolidation and modernization,” he said.

He also asked to modernize the Sonoita station to “account for agent growth.”

Ciscomani also asked to make the Interstate 19 checkpoint near Amado, Ariz. a permanent structure to “ensure agent safety.”

While Texas and California have permanent checkpoints, Southern Arizona’s checkpoints can be quickly taken down and moved as necessary, including the I-19 checkpoint which straddles the highway between Nogales, Ariz. and Tucson.

For years, former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe held up funding that would have made the checkpoint permanent because he believed fixed checkpoints were less effective at intercepting people. Instead, Kolbe favored tactical checkpoints that could be quickly established as smuggling routes changed over the years.

In 2006, Kolbe added language to a funding bill forcing the Tucson Sector to relocate checkpoints every week. However, most of the Sector’s nine checkpoints have stayed in the same locations for more than a decade.

In his letter to Scott, Ciscomani also pushed for new buildings for CBP’s Air and Marine Operations, which handles the agency’s helicopters, planes and river boats.

This includes a facility to help the Tucson Air Branch who need “expanded administrative capacity as they have outgrown their facilities.” He also sought funding to update AMO’s National Air Security Operations Center in Sierra Vista, which handles aircraft as well as the agency’s drones, including the MQ-9 Predator.

Ciscomani said AMO is operating out of trailers and needs permanent administrative facilities to accommodate a “growing workforce and mission.” He also sought new hangers for current aircraft and new ones expected under the new funding bill. 

Ciscomani also asked for funding for a new classified space for the Southern Border Intelligence Center. 

As part of his wish list, Ciscomani urged CBP to spend some of more than $6.1 billion on technology and screening, including more non-intrusive inspection scanners at the Mariposa border crossing for cars and trucks.

Earlier this summer, the Inspector General with the Department of Homeland Security said CBP struggled to deploy and maintain dozens of scanners designed to peer into vehicles and cargo and intercept contraband. Some scanners were in storage and could not be deployed because of a lack of federal funding, yet despite additional dollars from Congress — and a coming massive influx of cash — CBP struggled to install and maintain dozens of the scanners.

The watchdog said out of 150 fixed “large-scale” scanners CBP purchased, just one-third were deployed and installed on the border and around 46 percent of the systems were inoperable because of maintenance issues. The OIG also said CBP “did not effectively plan and manage” the program.

Ciscomani asked for more MQ-9  drones for the fleet in Sierra Vista, as well as more sensors on the border. This includes autonomous towers, detection systems against tunnels, small drones, as well as counter-drone systems to “deal with persistent and evolving threats from the Mexican drug cartels.” 

He also asked for more vehicles for areas with “rough, mountainous terrain” in the Tucson Sector, and more “Light Enforcement Helicopters”—the Airbus AS350 A-Star—rather than the larger and more expensive Blackhawk helicopters used by the U.S. military.