[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4119 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4119

   To reduce the trafficking of drugs and to prevent human smuggling 
 across the Southwest Border by deterring the construction and use of 
                            border tunnels.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2012

  Mr. Reyes (for himself, Mr. Quayle, Mr. Dreier, and Mr. Thompson of 
 Mississippi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways 
   and Means and 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 reduce the trafficking of drugs and to prevent human smuggling 
 across the Southwest Border by deterring the construction and use of 
                            border tunnels.

    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 ``Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 
2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Trafficking and smuggling organizations are 
        intensifying their efforts to enter the United States through 
        tunnels and other subterranean passages between Mexico and the 
        United States.
            (2) Border tunnels are most often used to transport 
        narcotics from Mexico to the United States, but can also be 
        used to transport people and other contraband.
            (3) From Fiscal Year 1990 to Fiscal Year 2011, law 
        enforcement authorities discovered 149 cross-border tunnels 
        along the border between Mexico and the United States, 139 of 
        which have been discovered since Fiscal Year 2001. There has 
        been a dramatic increase in the number of cross-border tunnels 
        discovered in Arizona and California since Fiscal Year 2006, 
        with 40 tunnels discovered in California and 74 tunnels 
        discovered in Arizona.
            (4) Section 551 of the Department of Homeland Security 
        Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 109-295) added a new 
        section to title 18, United States Code (18 U.S.C. 555), 
        which--
                    (A) criminalizes the construction or financing of 
                an unauthorized tunnel or subterranean passage across 
                an international border into the United States; and
                    (B) prohibits any person from recklessly permitting 
                others to construct or use an unauthorized tunnel or 
                subterranean passage on the person's land.
            (5) Any person convicted of using a tunnel or subterranean 
        passage to smuggle aliens, weapons, drugs, terrorists, or 
        illegal goods is subject to an enhanced sentence for the 
        underlying offense. Additional sentence enhancements would 
        further deter tunnel activities and increase prosecutorial 
        options.

SEC. 3. ATTEMPT OR CONSPIRACY TO USE, CONSTRUCT, OR FINANCE A BORDER 
              TUNNEL.

    Section 555 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(d) Any person who attempts or conspires to commit any offense 
under subsection (a) or subsection (c) of this section shall be subject 
to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the 
commission of which was the object of the attempt or conspiracy.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR INTERCEPTION OF WIRE, ORAL, OR ELECTRONIC 
              COMMUNICATIONS.

    Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``, section 555 (relating to construction or use of 
international border tunnels)'' before the semicolon at the end.

SEC. 5. FORFEITURE.

    (a) Criminal Forfeiture.--Section 982(a)(2)(B) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ``555,'' after ``545,''.
    (b) Civil Asset Forfeiture.--Any merchandise introduced into the 
United States through a tunnel or passage described in section 555(a) 
of title 18, United States Code, shall be subject to seizure and 
forfeiture in accordance with section 596(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 
(19 U.S.C. 1595a(c)).

SEC. 6. MONEY LAUNDERING DESIGNATION.

    Section 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting ``section 555 (relating to border tunnels),'' after 
``section 554 (relating to smuggling goods from the United States),''.

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) success in combating the construction and use of cross-
        border tunnels requires cooperation between Federal, State, 
        local, and tribal officials and assistance from private land 
        owners and tenants across the border between Mexico and the 
        United States;
            (2) the Department of Homeland Security is currently 
        engaging in outreach efforts in California to certain 
        landowners and tenants along the border to educate them about 
        cross-border tunnels and seek their assistance in combating 
        their construction; and
            (3) the Department should continue its outreach efforts to 
        both private and governmental landowners and tenants in areas 
        along the border between Mexico and the United States with a 
        high rate of cross-border tunnels.

SEC. 8. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit an 
annual report to the congressional committees set forth in subsection 
(b) that includes a description of--
            (1) the cross-border tunnels along the border between 
        Mexico and the United States discovered during the preceding 
        fiscal year; and
            (2) the needs of the Department of Homeland Security to 
        effectively prevent, investigate and prosecute border tunnel 
        construction along the border between Mexico and the United 
        States.
    (b) Congressional Committees.--The congressional committees set 
forth in this subsection are--
            (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (4) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (5) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (6) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.
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