PEARL Act

SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology

The PEARL Act is a modest, constitutionally sound measure that falls squarely within Congress's enumerated powers over immigration and border enforcement. It does not infringe any constitutional right, burdens no individual liberty, and appropriately delegates implementation to the federal agency best positioned to manage the program. The bill raises no due process or takings concerns.

• ✓ Passes · Enumerated powers
  Congress has broad authority over immigration and border control under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 (the Commerce Clause) and the inherent sovereign powers of the federal government to regulate immigration and protect national borders. Establishing a pilot program within CBP to support its canine program is a reasonable exercise of that authority, as it directly relates to the functioning of the…
• ✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
  The bill does not implicate any of the first ten amendments. It imposes no restriction on speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, takings, trial rights, or cruel and unusual punishment. It is a purely administrative measure concerning the adoption and training of dogs for federal employees.
• ✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
  The bill does not restrict any individual's freedom over their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It creates a voluntary program for CBP to adopt dogs from shelters, which does not compel any private citizen to act or refrain from acting. The burden of justification for any restriction is not triggered because no restriction exists.
• ✓ Passes · Decentralization
  The program is inherently federal because it supports federal border enforcement personnel. An individual or local community could not reasonably operate a support dog program for CBP agents, and a state could not manage a federal agency's internal program. The action does not consolidate decision-making upward beyond the necessary level; it is a federal function executed by the federal agency.
• ✓ Passes · Due process and takings
  The bill does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process, nor does it take private property for public use without just compensation. It involves no adjudicative or rulemaking procedures that would implicate procedural or substantive due process. The adoption of dogs from shelters is a voluntary transaction, not a taking.

Sources: Congress.gov: HR 3965 summary