Jan. 6—U.S. Rep. Keith Self, 3rd Congressional District of Texas, on Monday introduced a bill aimed at relocating the headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from Washington, D.C. to Texas. The move, according to Self, would bring the agency closer to the southern border where the majority of its operations occur and help address what he called an ongoing immigration crisis.
Currently, the CBP headquarters is based approximately 2,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Self argues that decentralizing the agency’s operations would reduce bureaucratic overhead and operating costs, while allowing CBP to respond more effectively to the challenges at the border.
“For four years, the Biden administration opened our southern border to more than 10 million illegal aliens, including murderers, gang members and suspected terrorists — forcing Texas to be their gateway,” Self said.
Self said moving the headquarters to Texas is a practical step that will allow border patrol agents to be on the ground at the critical point of the crisis.
Critics of the plan argue that such a move could lead to unnecessary disruptions, while others contend the focus should be on broader reforms to immigration law rather than logistical changes. However, Self said proponents of the bill say relocation would represent a practical step toward ensuring that CBP’s operations are “better aligned with the realities on the ground.”