Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) on Monday introduced a bill authorizing Customs and Border Protection to increase the number of vehicles being screened as they leave the U.S. for Mexico to stem the flow of guns and money that help fuel drug cartel operations.
The Enhancing Southbound Inspections to Combat Cartels Act (S. 1897) calls for providing 50 more non-intrusive inspection (NII) systems for southbound inspections. CBP is already preparing to significantly increase deployments of NII systems it uses to scan passenger and commercial vehicles entering the U.S. at land ports of entry to detect drugs, contraband, and potential threat items.
These new NII systems allow the occupants to remain in a vehicle during the electronic scanning procedure, increasing throughput at a port of entry.
In addition to the large-scale NII systems, the bill would authorize the purchase of additional screening for use on individuals and vehicles heading into Mexico.
The bill also would require that to the extent practicable at least 20 percent of outbound vehicles be inspected by various means including NII systems, canine units, or physical inspections.
Other provisions in the bill would authorize at least 500 new CBP officers to help with southbound inspections and add 100 new Homeland Security Investigations agents within Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The bill would also require CBP to report to Congress quarterly on the number of firearms, ammunition and currency being intercepted during southbound inspections.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection doesn’t currently have the resources they need to stop the flow of funds and money going south from the U.S. to the cartels in Mexico,” Lankford said in a statement. “With all the resources tied up dealing with the flow of people and drugs coming from the south into the U.S., we need to provide border law enforcement the additional people and technology they need to help address the flow of criminal activity going south from the U.S. into Mexico.”