[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2124 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2124

    To improve the safety, security, and operational control of the 
 international border by providing the Department of Homeland Security 
 with an accurate definition of the term ``cross-border violence'', to 
   require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop measures to 
quantify cross-border violence data for reporting to Congress and other 
                   entities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 3, 2011

  Mr. Canseco (for himself, Mr. McCaul, and Mrs. Miller of Michigan) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To improve the safety, security, and operational control of the 
 international border by providing the Department of Homeland Security 
 with an accurate definition of the term ``cross-border violence'', to 
   require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop measures to 
quantify cross-border violence data for reporting to Congress and other 
                   entities, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Southwest Cross-border Violence 
Recognition Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN CROSS-BORDER VIOLENCE.

    (a) Creation of New Reporting Requirements for a Comprehensive 
Evaluation of Cross-Border Violence.--In seeking to increase security 
and reduce cross-border violence along the United States border, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall, not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, submit to the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the 
metrics, described in subsection (c), to be used to gauge the incidents 
or occurrences of cross-border violence and how the resulting findings 
shall be quantified for periodic reporting in accordance with 
subsection (b).
    (b) Periodic Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the submission 
of the report required under subsection (a) and every 90 days 
thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a 
report on the incidents or occurrences of cross-border violence during 
the immediately preceding 90-day period, incorporating the metrics 
referred to in such subsection, and including information and crime 
statistics from Federal, State, local, and tribal sources.
    (c) Metrics Described.--The metrics referred to in subsection (a) 
shall include such sources of information as--
            (1) border sheriff and State law enforcement reports on 
        crime, vandalism, theft, burglary, apprehensions, accidents, 
        and capital crimes;
            (2) reports from local hospitals in border States regarding 
        the number of individuals (whether citizens, lawful permanent 
        residents, or foreign nationals) treated for wounds obtained 
        during acts of cross-border violence;
            (3) impact to property values and businesses along the 
        border as a result of factors such as acts of vandalism, theft, 
        burglary, destruction of property, and intimidation;
            (4) accounts of cross-border violence along the border 
        reported by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, U.S. 
        Customs and Border Protection, including the Border Patrol, and 
        other Federal departments and agencies determined appropriate 
        by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Cross-border violence.--The term ``cross-border 
        violence'' means--
                    (A) any act of violence--
                            (i) carried out by a foreign national, a 
                        citizen or lawful permanent resident of the 
                        United States, entity (whether foreign or 
                        domestic), or organization (whether foreign or 
                        domestic) (including a drug trafficking or 
                        human trafficking organization) acting in the 
                        interest of or on behalf of a foreign national, 
                        foreign organization, or foreign entity that 
                        occurs in the United States not further than 
                        100 miles from the United States border; or
                            (ii) that benefits any foreign national, 
                        citizen or lawful permanent resident of the 
                        United States, or entity or organization 
                        referred to in clause (i) profiting from 
                        unlawful activity across the United States 
                        border with a nexus to foreign organized crime, 
                        Foreign Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO), 
                        or Trans-national Criminal Organization (TCO) 
                        (as such organizations are described in the 
                        September 2009 Department of Homeland Security 
                        Border Task Force recommendations report); or
                    (B) any act of violence committed by a foreign 
                national, entity (whether foreign or domestic), 
                organization (whether foreign or domestic), or lawful 
                permanent resident or citizen of the United States 
                acting in the interest, or on behalf of, a foreign 
                national, foreign organization, or foreign entity 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) that is targeted at or 
                occurs during an activity that is unlawful under 
                Federal, State, or local law that is intentionally or 
                unintentionally inflicted upon any individual, 
                property, entity, or organization in the United States 
                not further than 100 miles from the United States 
                border, or occurring in the United States not further 
                than 100 miles from the United States border but 
                originating outside the United States.
            (2) Violence.--The term ``violence'' includes--
                    (A) criminal violence, including the criminal use 
                of force or threat of force occurring in the United 
                States, as reported by Federal, State, local, or tribal 
                law enforcement agencies;
                    (B) border-related organized crime violence, 
                including any act of violence that takes place in the 
                United States with links to cross-border crime, such as 
                drug, arms, cash, or alien smuggling or trafficking;
                    (C) violence against law enforcement agents, 
                including any act of violence carried out against a 
                Federal, State, local, or tribal law enforcement agent, 
                in association with cross-border crime;
                    (D) border violence, including any act of violence 
                that takes place in the United States not further than 
                100 miles from the United States border that has links 
                to cross-border crime such as drug, arms, cash, or 
                alien smuggling or trafficking or illegal migration; 
                and
                    (E) spillover violence, including--
                            (i) violence that starts in Mexico as part 
                        of a conflict among Trans-national Criminal 
                        Organizations (TCOs) or between TCOs and the 
                        Government of Mexico that carries over into the 
                        United States or threatens United States 
                        personnel or interests in Mexico; and
                            (ii) offensive violence organized or 
                        directed by TCOs against United States 
                        personnel or interests in the United States or 
                        Mexico.
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