Peters Secures Provision in National Defense Bill to Support Northern Border Security Operations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Gary Peters secured his bipartisan legislation to strengthen Northern Border security as a provision in the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which the House and Senate are currently working to pass. The provision, based on Peters' bipartisan Northern Border Coordination Act, expands the operations and duties of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Northern Border Mission Center. Peters secured $3 million in March to establish and operate this Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, where it is collocated with current DHS components. The Center, which DHS is already working to set up, will coordinate with state, local, and Tribal governments, and other key stakeholders, to ensure DHS and its operational components are able to fulfill their security mission at the Northern Border.

"The Northern Border Mission Center will help strengthen our Northern Border security by supporting current Department of Homeland Security operations, including personnel training and testing for new border security technologies right here in Michigan," said Senator Peters, Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "This Center will be a critical tool to help the Department of Homeland Security better track threats along the Northern Border, including illicit drug trafficking and the rise of illegal drone use across the border. After securing the funding needed to launch the Center earlier this year, I'm pleased to have secured this provision in the annual national defense bill to expand the Center's role and further cement its future as a key component in homeland security efforts. Most importantly, I'm proud this Center will help ensure Selfridge Air National Guard Base continues to play a pivotal role in our national security."

"The Northern Border Mission Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base will be an epicenter where our service women and men, civilian personnel and public safety professionals will continue to protect our borders and our freedoms for years to come. Thank you, Senator Peters, for your continued work to establish and expand the Center's important role at Selfridge to improve our Northern Border security," said Mark Hackel, Macomb County Executive.

"This is great news. The Northern Border Mission Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base will help meet the need for additional attention to boost national security at our Northern Border, and it will be an excellent addition to the various components at Selfridge. We applaud Senator Peters for his advocacy and diligence on the importance of the Northern Border in our nation's defense. This important mission will be embraced by Selfridge and open our community to other opportunities for border security efforts," said Candice S. Miller, the Macomb County Public Works commissioner and former member of Congress who is an honorary commander at Selfridge and member of the Air and Space Forces Civic Leaders Program.

The National Defense Authorization Act, which sets annual policy for the Department of Defense (DOD), has been signed into law for more than 60 consecutive years. Peters' provision in the legislation requires DHS to establish and expand the duties of the Northern Border Mission Center, to be collocated with an existing U.S. Border Patrol sector headquarters, an Air and Marine Operations Branch, and a U.S. Coast Guard air station, and other existing DHS activities at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The Center will serve as a coordination mechanism for implementing, evaluating, and updating the Northern Border Security Strategy, and any successor strategy. It also requires the Center to serve as a training location for personnel, act as a testing ground for border security technology, and to support counter-unmanned aircraft systems along the Northern Border. The Center will support DHS's ongoing border security work to address the evolving threats and challenges at the Northern Border, including the bi-directional flow of illicit drugs, like fentanyl, and other contraband, as well as human smuggling and trafficking. Transnational criminal organizations continually adapt their drug smuggling methods to evade U.S. law enforcement.

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