(a) In general.—In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for fiscal year 2025, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to remain available until September 30, 2029, $6,168,000,000 for the following:
(1) Procurement and integration of new nonintrusive inspection equipment and associated civil works, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other innovative technologies, as well as other mission support, to combat the entry or exit of illicit narcotics at ports of entry and along the southwest, northern, and maritime borders.
(2) Air and Marine operations’ upgrading and procurement of new platforms for rapid air and marine response capabilities.
(3) Upgrades and procurement of border surveillance technologies along the southwest, northern, and maritime borders.
(4) Necessary expenses, including the deployment of technology, relating to the biometric entry and exit system under section 7208 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (8 U.S.C. 1365b).
(5) Screening persons entering or exiting the United States.
(6) Initial screenings of unaccompanied alien children (as defined in section 462(g) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g))), consistent with the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–457; 122 Stat. 5044).
(7) Enhancing border security by combating drug trafficking, including fentanyl and its precursor chemicals, at the southwest, northern, and maritime borders.
(8) Commemorating efforts and events related to border security.
(b) Restrictions.—None of the funds made available under subsection (a) may be used for the procurement or deployment of surveillance towers along the southwest border and northern border that have not been tested and accepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to deliver autonomous capabilities.
(c) Definition of autonomous.—In this section, with respect to capabilities, the term “autonomous” means a system designed to apply artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, or other algorithms to accurately detect, identify, classify, and track items of interest in real time such that the system can make operational adjustments without the active engagement of personnel or continuous human command or control.