Legislative Hearing | Federal Lands Subcommittee

Federal Lands

2025-03-11

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The Subcommittee on Federal Lands convened a hearing to consider HR 1820, the Federal Lands Amplified Security for Homeland Act (FLASH Act), which aims to secure southern borderlands and address environmental degradation from illegal crossings. Key witnesses, including Border Patrol agents and officials from national parks, testified about the extensive trash, human waste, and criminal activity left behind by illegal immigrants on federal lands. The hearing highlighted challenges such as restricted access to wilderness areas, lack of infrastructure, and the environmental damage caused by illegal crossings. The bill proposes new roads, enhanced law enforcement access, and increased penalties for illicit activities. However, critics raised concerns about the environmental impact, rising staffing deficits in federal agencies, and the absence of funding for implementation. The hearing underscored a major policy divide between border security and environmental protection, with members questioning whether the bill adequately addresses systemic issues like underfunding, workforce cuts, and the real-world consequences of open border policies.

Participants

Transcript

Hey, what's up, all friends?   What was the end of the big six?
Thank you.
Rock and roll here.  The subcommittee on federal lands will come to order without objection.  The chair is authorized to declare recess of the subcommittee at any time.   Subcommittee is meeting today to consider HR 1820 sponsored by Representative Siskamani, the Federal Lands Amplified Security for the Homeland Act or the FLASH Act.  This bill represents comprehensive solutions to secure our federal borderlands and protect them from environmental damage.  I ask unanimous consent that the following members be allowed to participate in today's hearing from the dais.   the gentlelady from Wyoming, Ms. Hageman, and the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Siscamani.  Without objection, so ordered.  Under Committee Rule 4F, any oral opening statements at hearings are limited to the chairman and the ranking minority member.  I therefore ask unanimous consent that all other members' opening statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted in accordance with Committee Rule 3, parent O.  Without objection,   So ordered, I'll now recognize myself for an opening statement.  Morning, sir.  First of all, I want to begin by commending Representative Siscamani for both the timeliness and the importance of the legislation he has brought before us today.  As has been widely reported, the Biden-Harris administration has compiled the most incompetent and disgraceful record imaginable when it comes   to the protection of our southern border.  Although President Biden is no longer in office, the country is still reeling from his damaging and disgraceful open border policies.  Under the former president's watch, immigration authorities recorded more than 8.7 million encounters with illegal immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico.  This unprecedented surge overwhelmed America's response capabilities and created a confluence of security, environmental, and humanitarian crises.
Thankfully, President Trump is taking strong and decisive action to end this crisis, but Congress must also do its part.  We must create robust safeguards to ensure that this kind of reckless damage can never again be inflicted by an irresponsible president.  Recognizing this duty, my colleague from Arizona, Representative Siskamani has presented   the thoughtful legislative package before us today.  His bill empowers border patrol and local law enforcement to protect those areas that were left especially exposed and vulnerable by the Biden administration, our southern federal border lands.  Approximately 35% of the southern border is federally owned, so the conditions that prevail in those areas have a significant influence on overall border security.  And the large scale illegal migration that has occurred in those regions has also destroyed   fragile ecosystems.  The facts are unambiguous.  State governments, and we must rely on state estimates since federal agencies refuse to gather meaningful data, have calculated that each illegal migrant leaves behind an estimated six to eight pounds of trash during their journey across the border.  With more than 2.1 million encounters with illegal entrants last year, it's likely that illegal immigrants left a minimum   of 12 million pounds of trash in 2024 alone.  Worse still, this environmental degradation is happening in our most sensitive landscapes, national parks, national monuments, and wilderness areas.  Last February, I witnessed some of this ecological devastation firsthand.   When this subcommittee held a field oversight hearing on the border in Sierra Vista, Arizona, I visited the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and the Coronado National Forest.  While there, I was dismayed to see trash-strewn landscapes, illegal campfires, and decaying food piles.  If we truly care about conserving our federal lands and leaving them in better state for future generations,
We cannot ignore this crisis.  And by the way, you can see a picture of that right behind me here.  It is with this realization that prompted me to sponsor the Trashed Border Act last Congress.  That bill requires federal land managers to develop policies and protocols for addressing the massive trash accumulations that have piled up along the southern border.  It also requires those agencies to provide current data on the amount of waste collected   on federal lands along the southern border.  Finally, that legislation would increase penalties and fines for illegal immigrants who desecrate our public lands.  Key provisions of that bill are incorporated in today's legislative package.  The border crisis impact on public lands was not limited solely to environmental damage.  Under the Biden administration, federal borderlands became increasingly dangerous.   Even in strong enforcement years, federal borderlands are often targeted by criminals, drug smugglers, and human traffickers because they are remote, largely uninhabited, and less frequently patrolled.

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