[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 14 (Monday, January 30, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S172-S173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BORDER TUNNEL PREVENTION ACT OF 2011
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Senate proceed to Calendar No. 260, S. 1236.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1236) to reduce the trafficking of drugs and to
prevent human smuggling across the Southwest Border by
deterring the construction and use of border tunnels.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a
third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table,
with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the
bill be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 1236) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 1236
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 2011''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) As the international border between the United States
and Mexico becomes more secure, trafficking and smuggling
organizations intensify their efforts to enter the United
States by increasing the number of 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) Between May 1990 and May 2011, law enforcement
authorities discovered 137 tunnels, 125 of which have been
discovered since September 2001. While law enforcement
authorities discovered only 2 tunnels in California between
1990 and 2001, there has been a dramatic increase in the
number of border tunnels discovered in California since 2001.
(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. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) National security zone.--The term ``national security
zone'' means any Southwest Border land designated by the
Secretary as being at a high risk for border tunnel activity,
as authorized under section 8(b).
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Homeland Security.
(3) Southwest border land.--The term ``Southwest Border
land'' means all parcels of real property in the United
States that--
(A) are located within 1 mile of the international border
between the United States and Mexico; and
(B) are not owned by a Federal, State, tribal, or local
government entity.
SEC. 4. 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 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. 5. 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. 6. 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
[[Page S173]]
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. 7. 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. 8. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Notification to Land Owners.--The Secretary is
encouraged to annually provide each known nongovernmental
owner and tenant of land located in a national security zone
with a written notification that describes--
(1) Federal laws related to the construction of illegal
border tunnels; and
(2) the procedures for reporting violations of such laws to
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(b) Designation of Border Tunnel High Risk Areas.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may designate any Southwest
Border land that the Secretary has a substantial reason to
believe is at a high risk for border tunnel activity as a
national security zone.
(2) Publication.--The Secretary shall--
(A) publish any designations made under paragraph (1) in
the Federal Register; and
(B) allow appropriate notice and comment in accordance with
the chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code (commonly
referred to as the ``Administrative Procedures Act'').
(c) Rulemaking.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate
regulations to carry out this section.
SEC. 9. REPORT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall submit an annual
report to the congressional committees set forth in
subsection (b) that includes a description of--
(1) the cross border tunnels in Southwest Border land
discovered during the reporting period; and
(2) the needs of the Department of Homeland Security to
effectively prevent, investigate and prosecute border tunnel
construction on Southwest Border land.
(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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