On Oct. 2, 2025, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the Border Lands Conservation Act, a proposed bill that would grant the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expanded authority to build roads, install surveillance, and conduct operations within 100 miles of U.S. borders. It would amend the 1964 Wilderness Act to permit activities like the construction of roads and use of motorized vehicles in designated wilderness areas, which are currently prohibited.
The new measures could impact federal public lands in Minnesota, including Voyageurs National Park, Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW); but they do not impact state or private land or tribal sovereignty.
In a press release, Lee, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, was joined by Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., “to stop the environmental destruction on federal public lands as a result of the Biden Administration’s open-border policies. The Act will restore order, protect our national parks from decades of abuse, and give federal, state, and local officers the tools to secure the border.”
“Biden’s open-border chaos is destroying America’s crown jewels,” said Chairman Lee. “Families who want to enjoy a safe hike or campout are instead finding trash piles, burned landscapes, and trails closed because rangers are stuck cleaning up the fallout. Cartels are exploiting the disorder, using these lands as cover for their operations. This bill gives land managers and border agents the tools to restore order and protect these places for the people they were meant to serve.”
Why the bill is needed
Encounters at the northern border in FY2024 increased by over 600% compared to FY2021, as noted by the House Homeland Security Committee. President Donald Trump’s administration has taken aggressive measures to deter illegal immigration along northern and southern U.S. borders.
Lee introduced the Border Lands Conservation Act to tackle illegal immigration-related problems on public lands, such as trash buildup, abandoned vehicles, unauthorized roads, human waste, cattle trespassing and wildfires.
Federal lands would no longer be used for illegal immigrant camps
The Senate bill follows the House Committee on Natural Resources’ statement issued in September 2023 condemning the use of national parks for migrant camps in New York City. “In an effort to house the ballooning number of migrants in NYC, city officials turned to the National Park Service (NPS) Gateway National Recreation Area, specifically a site in Brooklyn known as Floyd Bennett Field. In an unprecedented decision, the city has entered into lease agreements with the NPS to permit the construction of a migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field.”
The Border Lands bill clarifies that conservation lands cannot be used as migrant encampments, preserving resources for visitor access and habitat management. This is in stark contrast to the Biden Administration policy.
A fact sheet for the bill says, “The Biden administration’s open border policy created numerous crises. One of these was the damage to federal lands. Illegal immigration creates significant resource damage to federal public lands and endangers border communities. This resource damage harms visitor safety and limits access to federal lands, including National Parks, National Forests, and National Wildlife Refuges.”
Next step includes collaboration of federal agencies
Lee’s bill would require the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate efforts to catalog existing roads and create navigable road infrastructure aimed at deterring illegal entry across the southern and northern borders.
“For years, restricted access to federal land has hindered immigration enforcement, leading to unchecked illegal crossings and severe environmental damage from trash, illegal trails, and wildfires caused by illegal aliens,” said Grant Newman, director of government relations for the Immigration Accountability Project. “Senator Lee’s Border Lands Conservation Act would resolve jurisdictional conflicts between agencies by granting the Department of Homeland Security the authority and access necessary to gain operational control of the border. The Immigration Accountability Project is happy to support this effort.”
