The FLASH Act (Federal Lands Amplified Security for the Homeland Act) is a multi-title bill that seeks to tighten border security in federal lands along the U.S.-Mexico southern border while addressing environmental degradation linked to border-related activity. It would require or authorize the construction and inventory of navigable roads on covered federal lands to improve Border Patrol access and enforcement, allow temporary movable structures and access for border security purposes on federal lands (with limited use periods), and prohibit migrant housing on federal lands near the border. At the same time, it creates programs and funding to reduce trash, control cannabis cultivation and other contaminants, and lessen wildfire risk associated with border activities. The bill emphasizes interagency cooperation, adheres to NEPA, and includes penalties, reporting requirements, and specific protections for tribal sovereignty, private and state land, and existing legal uses. If enacted, the measure would significantly expand federal land access for border enforcement and create new funding streams and enforcement tools to address environmental harm, including cannabis trespass sites, improper pesticide use, and wildland fires tied to border activity. Some provisions would create temporary, state-led border security structures on federal lands, with limited timeframes, while other parts impose penalties for violations of environmental and pesticide laws on federal lands used for border security efforts. The act also includes sunset provisions for certain programs and requires annual reporting on waste and environmental impacts.
Key Points
- 1Navigable roads on covered federal lands to boost border security and enforcement
- 2- Requires inventory and construction of navigable roads totaling about 584 miles near the southern border, within 10 miles of the border, to be completed within 5 years.
- 3- Roads are to enhance CBP access, allow official functions, and be paired with fencing/tech to improve operational control, with NEPA compliance overseen by the relevant Secretary.
- 4U.S. Customs and Border Protection access to wilderness and federal lands
- 5- Amends Wilderness Act protections to allow CBP to conduct access, patrols, maintenance, search-and-rescue, and use of certain vehicles/aircraft in wilderness areas to secure borders, while preserving wilderness character where possible.
- 6Temporary movable structures and border-state placement
- 7- Border States may place movable, temporary structures on covered federal lands for up to 1 year without a special use authorization, with 45 days’ notice and potential 90-day extensions upon consultation with CBP, to be extended only if operational control has not yet been achieved.
- 8Prohibition on interior and agriculture agencies hindering border operations
- 9- Interior and Agriculture Secretaries may not impede CBP activities within 100 miles of the southern border to execute search-and-rescue operations and prevent unlawful entries.
- 10Trash reduction and environmental degradation provisions
- 11- Requires policies within 90 days to prevent/mitigate environmental harm from aliens crossing or encamping on federal lands; includes transparency requirements, annual waste collection reports by agency and region, and cost data.
- 12- Establishes penalties and fines for violations of applicable fire and sanitation regulations on covered federal lands, with rules to escalate penalties within 1 year.
- 13Cannabis trespass/contaminant response and pesticide penalties
- 14- Establishes Trespass Cannabis Cultivation Site Response Initiatives within the Agriculture and Interior Departments to detect, assess, and remediate contamination from cannabis cultivation by trespassers on federal lands; funds and management structures are created to cover response actions.
- 15- Imposes criminal penalties for illegal pesticide applications linked to cannabis cultivation on federal lands, with increased fines and possible prison time, and extends penalties for violations during federal offenses.
- 16Protection and regulation of federal lands
- 17- Additional penalties for illegal cannabis cultivation on National Forest System lands and other federal lands, including significant fines and potential imprisonment, and cross-references to CERCLA where applicable.
- 18Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative
- 19- Aimed at reducing wildfire risk and improving border enforcement visibility; includes vegetation management, fuel breaks, target-setting by year, coordination with Forest Service and Border Patrol, and $3.66 million/year in authorizations (2026-2032); terminates seven years after enactment.
- 20Mitigating environmental degradation and wildfires caused by illegal immigration
- 21- Requires policies and protocols within 90 days to reduce wildfires and environmental damage from aliens crossing the border; annual reporting to Congress on incidents, acres burned, and related data.
- 22Title III: Housing restrictions for migrants
- 23- Prohibits providing housing to specified aliens on federal lands near the border, with a related reporting requirement.
- 24Savings clause and federal land protections
- 25- Preserves existing legal uses (grazing, timber, hunting, mining, recreation) and does not extend authority to state/private lands; respects tribal sovereignty and does not supersede tribal treaties; does not block DHS or DoD detentions in border security operations.