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H.R. 3943: Protecting the Property Rights of Border Landowners Act

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H.R. 3943: Protecting the Property Rights of Border Landowners Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-10-04 · Immigration · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-10-04 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. O'Rourke, Beto [D-TX-16] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Protecting the Property Rights of Border Landowners Act

Plain summary

Protecting the Property Rights of Border Landowners Act This bill amends the the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as the Department of Justice (DOJ), to acquire by purchase or gift any interest in land near an international border deemed essential to guard U.S. boundaries or borders, and (2) prohibit DHS or DOJ from using condemnation authority to acquire land to construct a wall or other physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Protecting the Property Rights of Border Landowners Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. O'Rourke, Beto [D-TX-16] · 9 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Scott H. Peters (D-CA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-hr3943 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115