HR 275: Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025

HR 275 in plain English: This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to submit monthly reports on non-U.S. nationals who attempt to unlawfully enter the United States and who potentially pose a national security risk. Each report must include the number of such individuals, their nationalities or countries of last residence, and where the encounters occurred.

Stated purpose

To require the Department of Homeland Security to publish monthly public reports on the number of non-U.S. nationals who attempt to unlawfully enter the United States and who potentially pose a national security risk, including their nationalities and where encounters occurred.

Key points

• Requires DHS to publish monthly reports on non-citizens who attempt illegal entry and may pose a national security risk.
• Reports must include the number of individuals encountered, their nationalities or last countries of residence, and encounter locations.

Arguments supporters make

• Transparency is a basic check on government — the public and Congress deserve regular, clear data on who is being encountered at the border and what security risks may be present.
• Monthly reporting creates accountability by establishing a consistent record that lawmakers and citizens can use to evaluate whether border security resources and policies are working.
• Publishing data going back to January 2021 closes an information gap and allows for a full picture of trends over time, not just recent numbers.

Arguments opponents make

• Publishing detailed monthly data on nationalities and encounter locations could give bad actors useful information about where enforcement is concentrated and which groups receive more scrutiny.
• The bill's definition of 'special interest alien' — based on travel patterns that 'potentially' pose a risk — is broad and could unfairly stigmatize entire nationalities in public reporting without proof of actual wrongdoing.
• DHS already collects and shares border data through existing channels; critics may argue this adds a reporting burden without meaningfully improving security outcomes.

Tradeoffs

Greater public transparency about national security encounters at the border may improve government accountability, but could also raise privacy concerns for individuals in the data and potentially expose enforcement patterns that authorities rely on to remain effective.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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