The Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade Facilitation Act of 2025 would create a pilot program within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Office of Field Operations) to establish Image Technician 1 and Image Technician 2 positions. These roles, filled from within CBP, are not law enforcement and cannot be contractors.
Their duties focus on reviewing non-intrusive inspection images of conveyances and containers at land, rail, air, and sea ports, identifying anomalies, and recommending entry, exit, or further inspection to CBP officers. The bill also requires specified training (including privacy and civil liberties protections), assigns five regional command centers for image review, and sets up annual assessments and semiannual reporting to Congress.
A sunset provision terminates the pilot after five years, with potential transfers back to CBP or DHS when the program ends; reporting includes data on staffing, throughput, wait times, seizures, and the program’s impact on port operations.
At a Glance
What It Does
Adds two new Image Technician tracks (1 and 2) in CBP’s Office of Field Operations. They review non-intrusive images, flag anomalies, and advise but do not replace final decision-making by CBP officers. They are assigned to regional command centers and operate under CBP supervision.
Who It Affects
CBP personnel at ports of entry, including Supervisory Officers and frontline image review staff; five regional command centers; and ports of entry and international rail crossings that rely on imaging data.
Why It Matters
Creates a formal, trained image-review capability to augment border screening, aiming to improve detection of contraband and reduce unnecessary delays while preserving officer discretion and civil-liberties protections.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The BEST Facilitation Act creates a pilot program within the CBP Office of Field Operations to formalize two levels of Image Technicians. Image Technician 1 and Image Technician 2 are CBP employees (not contractors) who will review non-intrusive inspection images of conveyances and containers at ports of entry.
Their duties include spotting anomalies that could indicate contraband, illicit entry, or illicit concealment, and then recommending whether to allow entry, exit, or to escalate for further inspection. They operate under the supervision of a CBP officer who retains final decision-making authority.
The bill also requires annual training for these technicians—covering privacy, civil rights, and the technologies used—plus ongoing updates about tactics and procedures used by malign actors. Additionally, five regional command centers will be established to centralize image review across land, rail, air, and sea ports.
It creates a set of reporting and performance metrics, and it sunsets the pilot after five years, with the possibility of personnel transfers to comparable DHS or CBP roles when the program ends. The reporting requirements push Congress to track staffing, throughput, wait times, seizures, and the program’s impact on port operations, while biannual briefings keep lawmakers informed about progress and challenges.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill creates Image Technician 1 and Image Technician 2 positions within the CBP Office of Field Operations.
The technicians review non-intrusive images of conveyances and containers to identify anomalies and guide entry decisions.
Five regional command centers will be established for image review at land, rail, air, and sea ports.
The program includes annual training, annual assessments, and semiannual reporting to Congress, with a sunset after five years.
Image Technicians are not law enforcement and final entry decisions remain with CBP officers; transfer options exist after the pilot ends.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Short Title
This act may be cited as the Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade Facilitation Act of 2025 (the BEST Facilitation Act). The title sets the framework for the pilot without altering existing authorities beyond what is stated in Section 2.
Image Technician Pilot Program in CBP
Section 2 creates two image technician tracks (1 and 2) within the CBP Office of Field Operations. Technicians are CBP employees (not contractors) and may be filled from existing staff. They must be assigned to regional command centers and work under the discretion of supervisory officers, who keep final decision-making authority over releases and referrals. The duties include reviewing non-intrusive inspection images to detect anomalies, assessing concealment or illicit activity, and recommending entry, exit, or further inspection. Training requirements cover privacy rights, civil liberties, and ongoing analysis of inspection technologies, with additional instruction on procedures used by malign actors. The section also authorizes annual training, annual assessments, and establishes command centers to centralize image review across ports.
Reporting Requirements
Section 3 establishes semiannual reports on staffing, port-level throughput, wait times, and seizures, as well as annual performance metrics and training methodologies. It also requires biannual briefings to Congress on the program’s progress and any infrastructure or resource needs to sustain the command centers. These reports are designed to measure efficiency gains and program impact while maintaining oversight of the image-review function.
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Who Benefits
- Supervisory U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers who will guide image technicians and retain final decision-making authority.
- Port-of-entry operations managers and frontline CBP staff who may experience clearer workflows and faster processing where image-review supports decisions.
- Image Technician personnel (existing CBP staff who transition into these roles) who gain formalized career tracks and training.
- The National Targeting Center and CBP intelligence functions, which will receive reporting on tactics and procedures observed at ports.
- Congress and oversight agencies that will receive regular, structured data on throughput, wait times, and seizures.
- The Office of Field Operations, which gains a centralized capability to review imaging data via regional command centers.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal taxpayers funding the pilot’s staffing, training, and five regional command centers.
- CBP budget resources allocated to salaries, IT infrastructure, data management, and ongoing training.
- Port operations and regional offices bearing transitional costs to integrate the new workflow and IT systems.
- Privacy and civil liberties compliance teams required to implement training and auditing programs.
- DHS IT and data storage requirements to support non-intrusive imaging data and reporting.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is balancing an expanded, image-based screening capability with the need to protect civil liberties and preserve officer discretion. If the pilot proves effective, it could speed processing and enhance security; if not, it risks privacy concerns, workflow disruption, and unfunded mandates given the five-year sunset.
The bill motions to add a human-in-the-loop imaging review layer without removing the essential discretion of CBP officers. That division—image technicians informing decisions while officers make final rulings—creates a two-track approach to border screening, which could improve detection and processing but also raises questions about data retention, consistent training, and the potential for over-reliance on image analysis.
The sunset provision (five years) limits long-term expansion unless renewed, but it also raises questions about how such a program would be evaluated and scaled if proven effective. Data gathered through the pilot—throughput, wait times, seizures—will require careful privacy protections and controls over who can access sensitive image-derived information.
The program’s success hinges on robust training, clear escalation paths, and sustained funding to maintain five regional command centers and related infrastructure.
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