U.S. expands ocean patrol zone by 12 miles—with minimal due-process guardrails
S. 221 — Extending Limits of United States Customs Waters Act of 2025 · Filed by Rick Scott (R-FL) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 23, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill extends U.S. Customs and Border Protection's law enforcement authority from 12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles offshore, aligning with international law. It amends the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Anti-Smuggling Act to allow federal agents to interdict vessels, conduct inspections, and enforce customs, immigration, and sanitary laws across a wider maritime zone, citing faster modern vessels and the need for more reaction time.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to extend federal customs and border enforcement jurisdiction from 12 to 24 nautical miles offshore. This is a straightforward expansion of executive law enforcement authority in international waters, justified by modern vessel speed and smuggling prevention.
What the text implies
- Expands government boarding and search authority over a 12-nautical-mile additional zone without explicit warrant or probable-cause language, potentially affecting innocent commercial and recreational vessels.
- May increase friction with international maritime traffic and fishing operations, as the contiguous zone is not exclusive U.S. territory under international law—other nations' vessels retain high-seas freedoms there.
- Creates asymmetry: U.S. agents gain expanded authority, but the bill does not address reciprocal rights of other nations' law enforcement in U.S. contiguous zones.
- No explicit privacy or civil-liberties safeguards for U.S. citizens or foreign nationals boarded in the expanded zone; relies on existing CBP protocols.
Who it affects
The bill may improve public safety and law enforcement capacity against smuggling and illegal immigration by extending enforcement reach. However, it also expands government surveillance and boarding authority over a much larger ocean area, potentially affecting fishing vessels, recreational boaters, and maritime commerce with less warning or due process.
Who stands to gain
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (federal agency budget/staffing)
- Maritime security contractors
- Vessel manufacturers (coast guard, patrol boat suppliers)
Named in the bill
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Tariff Act of 1930, Anti-Smuggling Act, Presidential Proclamation 5928, Presidential Proclamation 7219, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Senate Committee on Finance
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 3 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Jan 23, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 23, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“U.S. expands ocean patrol zone by 12 miles—with minimal due-process guardrails” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s221 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.