HARM Act

House Bill

H.R. 506

119th Congress

HARM Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 16, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Tony Gonzales

Representative

Republican

TX-23

Cosponsors

15

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Immigration

Summary

This bill reauthorizes Operation Stonegarden through FY2028, funding it with seized unreported monetary instruments from border crossings. DHS must report on hiring practices from 2018-2024 and assess whether criminal gangs and Mexican cartels meet foreign terrorist organization criteria. DHS must also provide periodic reports on technology needs to secure the U.S.-Mexico land border.

Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

SponsorTony Gonzales (R-TX)

Introduced1/16/2025

StatusReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

ChamberHouse

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

HARM Act

This bill reauthorizes Operation Stonegarden through FY2028, funding it with seized unreported monetary instruments from border crossings. DHS must report on hiring practices from 2018-2024 and assess whether criminal gangs and Mexican cartels meet foreign ter

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill reauthorizes Operation Stonegarden through FY2028, funding it with seized unreported monetary instruments from border crossings. DHS must report on hiring practices from 2018-2024 and assess whether criminal gangs and Mexican cartels meet foreign terrorist organization criteria. DHS must also provide periodic reports on technology needs to secure the U.S.-Mexico land border.

Bill Number: 506
Sponsor: Tony Gonzales (R-TX)
Introduced: 1/16/2025
Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy Area: Immigration

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: HARM Act
Bill Number: 506
Sponsor: Tony Gonzales (R-TX)
Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced: 1/16/2025
Summary: This bill reauthorizes Operation Stonegarden through FY2028, funding it with seized unreported monetary instruments from border crossings. DHS must report on hiring practices from 2018-2024 and assess whether criminal gangs and Mexican cartels meet foreign terrorist organization criteria. DHS must a

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill reauthorizes Operation Stonegarden through FY2028, funding it with seized unreported monetary instruments from border crossings. DHS must report on hiring practices from 2018-2024 and assess whether criminal gangs and Mexican cartels meet foreign terrorist organization criteria. DHS must also provide periodic reports on technology needs to secure the U.S.-Mexico land border.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Security First ActThis bill reauthorizes the Operation Stonegarden program from FY2025 through FY2028 and addresses other border security issues. (Operation Stonegarden provides grants to enhance the border security capabilities of state, local, and tribal governments.)From FY2025 through FY2028, the money from unreported monetary instruments seized from individuals crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and transferred into the Department of the Treasury general fund shall be made available without further appropriation to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fund Operation Stonegarden.DHS must report to Congress on (1) DHS hiring practices from 2018 to 2024, and (2) whether certain criminal gangs and Mexican drug cartels meet the criteria to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. DHS must also periodically report to Congress about the technology needed to secure the U.S.-Mexico land border.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Reauthorizes Operation Stonegarden through FY2028
Funds program with seized border crossing currency
Requires DHS hiring practices report 2018-2024
Mandates cartel terrorist organization assessment
Periodic reporting on border security technology needs

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

Operation Stonegarden provides grants enhancing state, local, and tribal border security capabilities. Using seized funds to finance the program creates a self-sustaining enforcement mechanism. The cartel terrorist designation assessment could lead to significant escalation of counter-drug operations if cartels are so designated. The technology reporting ensures ongoing evaluation of border security tools.