Establishment of Joint Operations Centers

(a) In general Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Department shall establish not less than 2 Joint Operations Centers along the southern border of the United States to provide unified coordination centers, where law enforcement from multiple Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies can collaborate in accordance with the purposes described in subsection (b). (b) Matters covered The Centers shall provide centralized operations hubs for matters related to the following: (1) Implementing coordination and communication for field operations between participating Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies, as needed. (2) Coordinating operations across participating Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies, as needed, including ground, air, and sea or amphibious operations. (3) Coordinating and supporting border operations, including deterring and detecting criminal activity related to— (A) transnational criminal organizations; (B) illegal border crossings; (C) the seizure of weapons; (D) the seizure of drugs; (E) the seizure of high valued property; (F) terrorism; (G) human trafficking; (H) drug trafficking; and (I) such additional matters as the Secretary considers appropriate. (c) Information sharing To ensure effective transmission of information between participating Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies, for purposes of subsection (b), coordination and communication shall include— (1) Federal agencies sharing pertinent information with participating State, local, and Tribal agencies through the Centers; and (2) Federal agencies notifying participating State, local, and Tribal agencies of operations occurring within the jurisdictions of those agencies. (d) Workforce capabilities The Centers shall— (1) track and coordinate deployment of participating personnel; and (2) coordinate training, as needed.