[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H8748-H8750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BORDER TUNNEL TASK FORCE ACT
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6740) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to
establish Border Tunnel Task Forces, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows
H.R. 6740
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 Task Force
Act''.
SEC. 2. BORDER TUNNEL DETECTION.
(a) In General.--Subtitle B of title IV of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 211 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 420. BORDER TUNNEL TASK FORCES.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish Border
Tunnel Task Forces in jurisdictions in which such Border
Tunnel Task Forces can contribute to border security missions
after evaluating--
``(1) whether the areas in which such Border Tunnel Task
Forces would be established are significantly impacted by
cross-border threats; and
``(2) the availability of Federal, State, local, and Tribal
law enforcement resources to participate in such Border
Tunnel Task Forces.
``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Border Tunnel Task
Forces under subsection (a) is to enhance and integrate
border security efforts by addressing and reducing cross-
border tunnel related threats and violence by--
``(1) facilitating collaboration among Federal, State,
local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to execute
coordinated activities in furtherance of border security and
homeland security; and
``(2) enhancing information-sharing, including the
dissemination of homeland security information, among such
agencies.
``(c) Composition and Establishment of Border Tunnel Task
Forces.--Border Tunnel Task Forces may be comprised of the
following:
``(1) Personnel from U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
including the U.S. Border Patrol.
``(2) Personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, including Homeland Security Investigations.
``(3) Personnel from other Department components and
offices, as appropriate.
``(4) Personnel from other Federal, State, local, and
Tribal law enforcement agencies, as appropriate.
``(5) Other appropriate personnel at the discretion of the
Secretary.
``(d) Duplication of Efforts.--In determining whether to
establish a new Border Tunnel Task Force or to expand an
existing Border Tunnel Task Force in a given jurisdiction,
the Secretary shall ensure that the Border Tunnel Task Force
under consideration does not unnecessarily duplicate the
efforts of other existing interagency task forces or centers
within such jurisdiction.
``(e) Coordination Among Components.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) establish targets and performance measures for the
Border Tunnel Task Forces that include consideration of
whether border barriers impact cross-border tunnel threats;
``(2) direct leadership of each Border Tunnel Task Force to
monitor progress on such targets and performance measures for
each such task force; and
``(3) periodically report to the Committee on Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate
regarding progress on such targets and performance
measures.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section
1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 419 the
following new item:
``Sec. 420. Border Tunnel Task Forces.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. McCaul) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Richmond) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
any extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Border Tunnel Task Force
Act.
Mr. Speaker, some of the most dangerous threats to our homeland are
coming across our southern border. Drug smugglers are bringing
dangerous narcotics and fueling America's epidemic of opioids. Human
traffickers and transnational gangs like MS-13 are infecting our
neighborhoods and endangering our kids. Even potential known or
suspected terrorists are trying to make their way into America by
exploiting our weak borders.
All of these groups are a serious national security concern. They are
also very determined and creative, and one of the ways they avoid
detection is by digging cross-border tunnels.
In August, a tunnel the length of two football fields was discovered
below a closed fast-food restaurant in Arizona. This pathway was used
to smuggle cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamines.
In 2016, 7 tons of marijuana and 1 ton of cocaine were found in a
tunnel not far from San Diego. In my home State of Texas, a tunnel was
discovered under the Rio Grande in El Paso back in 2010, also for
smuggling drugs.
Unfortunately, the problem is not new. Authorities have discovered
nearly 200 cross-border tunnels since 1990. We must do more to shut
these tunnels down. This legislation will establish Border Tunnel Task
Forces to enhance the ability of DHS to detect these tunnels and
identify criminal networks.
These teams will be made up of ICE, CBP, and other Department
personnel. They will be assisted by State, local, and Tribal law
enforcement agencies. These teams will deploy to locations along the
border where the greatest
[[Page H8749]]
risks to our national security exist. In working together, they will be
able to better secure our border and protect Americans from a growing
list of threats.
This bill will minimize a unique, but serious, threat to our
homeland. I want to thank my very dear friend and colleague,
Congressman Sessions, for all of his hard work on this issue, and I
urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6740, the Border Tunnel Task
Force Act. H.R. 6740 formally authorizes the Department of Homeland
Security's Border Tunnel Task Force.
The first illicit cross-border tunnel under the United States-Mexico
border was discovered in 1990. Since then, law enforcement has
uncovered more than 200 tunnels, primarily in Arizona and California.
Cross-border tunnels are exploited by smugglers to move all types of
contraband, currency, and people into the United States without
detection. Unearthed tunnels range from crudely formed, shallow
tunnels, to elaborately constructed passages that include lighting or
railways and emerge on the U.S. side in facilities large enough to
accommodate deliveries by tractor-trailers.
Incredibly, some tunnels are interconnected with municipal stormwater
and sewer systems on both sides of the border. In one case, a 2016 law
enforcement operation uncovered a tunnel half a mile inland with a ton
of cocaine and 7 tons of marijuana in it.
Just last month, about 200 yards from the border, there was a traffic
stop arrest of an individual with more than 300 pounds of illegal
drugs, which resulted in the execution of a search warrant on his
property and the discovery of a tunnel that went from a long-abandoned
Kentucky Fried Chicken that was on his property directly to a house in
Mexico. Inside that 600-foot-long tunnel, Federal agents discovered $1
million worth of hard drugs.
These discoveries did not just happen. They were the result of
collaborative, binational law enforcement operations under the auspices
of the Border Tunnel Task Forces that the Department of Homeland
Security maintains. H.R. 6740 seeks to authorize the task forces to
ensure that this valuable work continues.
I ask my House colleagues to join me in supporting DHS' efforts to
head off smuggling through illicit cross-border tunnels and vote in
favor of H.R. 6740.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions), the distinguished chairman of the
Rules Committee and the author of this bill.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and thank the young chairman
of the Homeland Security Committee, the gentleman from Austin, Texas,
who has had the responsibility and the authority vested in him as
chairman of the committee to make sure that we look at, approach, and
correct the problems that we have at our borders. I want to thank the
distinguished gentleman for his years of service not only to the
Department of Justice, but to the American people and the rule of law.
Mr. Speaker, every day we in Texas and around the United States deal
with crime, drugs, and gangs that are streaming into the United States
from our southern border. Both Chairman McCaul and I recognize that the
challenge that we have ahead of us here in Washington is not only to
support and defend our Constitution, but it is actually to defend
people who live back home, wherever they might be in the United States.
No part of the United States is safe if our southern border is not
effectively taken care of. That is why we are here today with a bill
that addresses this issue even further. That issue is that we must
secure our borders to halt the flow of drugs that come into our
country.
We recognize that one of the most vulnerable piece parts that has
been talked about today and that is known by law enforcement is that of
the use of tunnels, which evade not only the sight of law enforcement,
but take place under the secrecy of those who would intend to bring
illegal drugs, narcotics, people, and other unspecified but dangerous
items into this country.
These tunnels are difficult to detect without sophisticated equipment
or intelligence that advises law enforcement not only where they are,
but how they might discover them. Said another way, cartels and
criminals are one step ahead of the good guys, our law enforcement.
Just last month, United States Homeland Security agents discovered a
600-foot-long drug tunnel running between a private home in Mexico and
an abandoned food restaurant in Arizona. Near the tunnel, they
discovered--as has been talked about here today and it is worth
repeating--261 pounds of methamphetamines, 14 pounds of cocaine, 45
pounds of heroin, and almost 7 pounds of fentanyl. That is enough to
have supplied over 3 million people with dosage units that could cause
them not only harm, but also take their life.
Working with Chairman Michael McCaul, our young chairman from Austin,
Texas, I am pleased to inform you that earlier this month we introduced
H.R. 6740, the Border Tunnel Task Force Act. This bill will enhance not
only law enforcement--Federal, State, and local law enforcement--but
also Tribal law enforcement with the ability that they need to make
sure that these cross-border-related threats are taken care of
properly.
First of all, the task force will look at the issue and understand
how these cartels and drug gangs make these tunnels, where they make
them, and when they make them.
Secondly, the task force will ensure that they are looking out and
working together.
Specifically, this legislation requires the Department of Homeland
Security to establish a Border Tunnel Task Force, which would be
comprised of personnel from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, known
as CBP; U.S. Border Patrol; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
known as ICE; and Homeland Security investigators. These groups would
work together on border issues where enhanced information could be
shared and law enforcement action would contribute to our border
security missions.
It is my hope that the establishment of these law enforcement groups
will help facilitate not only teamwork among Federal, State, local, and
Tribal officials, but they will also help execute coordinated
activities to crack down on gangs that continue to seek ways to do
their illegal trade and business along our border which places
Americans at risk.
In closing, I would like to once again thank Chairman McCaul and his
Homeland Security Committee, its members on a bipartisan basis, and
their staff for recognizing that this is a true threat against the
United States of America, our citizens, and perhaps our most
vulnerable, our children.
Their work in protecting our country is paramount, and so I urge my
colleagues to support H.R. 6740, the Border Tunnel Task Force Act, a
bill that will encourage, help, and strengthen law enforcement in this
activity. It will protect the United States of America and protect
American families from drug cartels and drug trafficking.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the young chairman for his hard work and
also the gentleman from Louisiana, who recognized, on a bipartisan
basis, that we must protect our homeland.
{time} 1430
Mr. Speaker, DHS's Border Tunnel Task Forces have been effective at
identifying and closing tunnels through which smugglers illicitly move
drugs, launder money, and other contraband into the United States. As
such, I support these task forces, but would note that there are two
20-foot-high fences--or ``wall'' as the President likes to call them--
near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Luis, Arizona, the town where a
tunnel was discovered under an abandoned restaurant last month.
Logic tells you that when smugglers cannot easily move goods or
people over or through physical barriers, they will tunnel underneath.
Importantly, the measure under consideration today includes language
offered by Representative Vela, the ranking member of the Border and
[[Page H8750]]
Maritime Security Subcommittee, to require DHS to determine whether
border barriers impact the proliferation of cross-border tunnels.
With DHS having dedicated nearly $9 million over the past decade to
remediating and countering cross-border tunnel threats, DHS needs to
know whether its wall agenda is driving more illicit cross-border
tunnels.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6740, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, every day, we are seeing drugs coming in from Mexico,
known or suspected terrorists, and dangerous opioids. We see fentanyl
coming in from China into Mexico where they mix it with
methamphetamines and heroin. It is really toxic, poisonous stuff.
Fentanyl is so toxic that our canines die when they sniff it, yet that
is being put into drugs coming across the U.S.-Mexico border into the
United States to pollute and infect our children and our veterans. It
is time for this to stop.
I hope that we will be able to take up, perhaps in November, our
border security bill, which I think would go a long ways to getting
this job done. In the meantime, this bill, I think, will go a long ways
to stopping a very organized, sophisticated route of drugs, bad people,
and bad things into the United States, and that is shutting down these
tunnels.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 6740, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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