[Senate Report 118-328]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 748
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2nd Session } { 118-328
_______________________________________________________________________
COOPERATION ON COMBATING HUMAN
SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 5315
TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
TO ENHANCE BORDER SECURITY BY SEEKING TO
EXPAND PARTNERSHIPS WITH APPROPRIATE LAW
ENFORCEMENT ENTITIES IN MEXICO AND CENTRAL
AMERICAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES TO COMBAT
HUMAN SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING OPERATIONS IN
MEXICO AND SUCH COUNTRIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024.--Ordered to be
printed
------
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2025
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
ADAM SCHIFF, California ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Alan S. Kahn, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Laura A. Lynch, Senior Counsel
Brittany M. Hallak, Research Assistant
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Megan M. Krynen, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 748
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2nd Session } { 118-328
======================================================================
COOPERATION ON COMBATING HUMAN SMUGGLING AND
TRAFFICKING ACT
_______
December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024.--Ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 5315]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 5315) to direct the
Secretary of Homeland Security to enhance border security by
seeking to expand partnerships with appropriate law enforcement
entities in Mexico and Central American and South American
countries to combat human smuggling and trafficking operations
in Mexico and such countries, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that the
bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 5315, the Cooperation on Combating Human Smuggling and
Trafficking Act, directs the Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) in coordination with Federal partners,
to expand partnerships with law enforcement entities in Mexico
and Central and South America to combat human smuggling and
trafficking operations. The Secretary is directed to establish
and expand cross-border transnational criminal investigative
units and enhance participation in the Bilateral Human
Trafficking Enforcement Initiative. The bill also directs DHS
to expand collaborative programs involving Homeland Security
Investigations that are aimed at disrupting human smuggling and
trafficking. Additionally, the bill directs DHS to carry out a
public information campaign targeting migrant populations in
Latin American that addresses the dangers of traveling across
Mexico to the United States and also combat misinformation and
disinformation by nefarious actors regarding United States laws
or policies. The bill also requires the U.S. Government
Accountability Office to conduct a study assessing the
effectiveness of the public information campaign and best
practices.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
Transnational criminal organizations have established,
developed, and secured routes for human smuggling, resulting in
increasing migration rates into the United States.\1\ These
transnational criminal organizations are also responsible for
spreading misinformation and disinformation on United States'
laws and policies, contributing to migrants making the
precarious journey.\2\ In addition to these regions
experiencing increased rates of human smuggling, these regions
have also experienced unprecedented rates of human trafficking,
which can include forced labor, such as agriculture, mining,
and logging, but also sex trafficking.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Congressional Research Service, Central American Migration: Root
Causes and U.S. Policy (Oct. 30, 2024); 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1324.
\2\Misinformation fuels false hopes among migrants after deadly
fire in Mexico, NBC News, (Mar. 30, 2023) (https://www.nbcnews.com/
news/latino/misinformation-fuels-false-hopes-
migrants-mexico-fire-rcna77398).
\3\U.S. Department of State, Key Trafficking Issues in the Western
Hemisphere Region (Aug. 23, 2024) (https://www.state.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2024/08/24-02934-TIP_Factsheet-Western-Hemisphere-Region_508-
Accessible-8.13.2024.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Human traffickers and smugglers prey on victims and profit
from their exploitation. Victims are often fleeing violence,
persecution, and poverty, leaving them vulnerable to extortion
by traffickers and smugglers. Transnational criminal
organizations, take advantage of these factors, and provide
unauthorized transport for noncitizens to cross U.S. borders at
high costs which incurs substantial debt to these
organizations.\4\ The high fees paid to smugglers do not ensure
safe travel. Noncitizens who make the journey to the southern
border find themselves at high risk for rape, kidnap, robbery,
assault, and extortion.\5\ Many women and children are often
forced into labor and/or sex trafficking when they arrive in
the U.S. and remain indebted to their smugglers.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Human Smuggling Equals
Grave Danger, Big Money (www.ice.gov/features/human-smuggling-danger)
(accessed Dec. 9, 2024).
\5\United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Smuggling of
migrants--The harsh search for a better life (https://www.unodc.org/
documents/toc/factsheets/TOC12_fs_migrantsmuggling_
EN_HIRES.pdf) (accessed Dec. 9, 2024).
\6\U.S. Department of State, About Human Trafficking (https://
www.state.gov/humantrafficking-about-human-trafficking/) (accessed Dec.
17, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an effort to reduce human smuggling and trafficking, the
United States has developed law enforcement partnerships with
other countries, including Mexico. ICE HSI's Transnational
Criminal Investigative Units (TCIUs) investigate and prosecute
individuals involved in transnational criminal activity and
work to facilitate the prosecution of transnational criminal
organizations through both the U.S. judicial system and in
foreign countries.\7\ S. 5315, the Cooperation on Combating
Human Smuggling and Trafficking Act, in an effort to counter
transnational criminal organizations, would further strengthen
the partnerships between the United States and law enforcement
entities in Mexico and Central and South America by expanding
cross-border criminal investigations and providing enhanced
training to partners.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transnational Criminal
Investigative Units (TCIUs), (www.dhs.gov/hsi/task-forces/tciu)
(accessed Dec. 11, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 5315, the
Cooperation on Combating Human Smuggling and Trafficking Act,
on November 14, 2024. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) joined the bill
as a cosponsor on November 20, 2024. The bill was referred to
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 5315 at a business meeting on
November 20, 2024. At the business meeting, Senator Peters
offered a twice modified substitute amendment which added
language in the bill that would direct DHS to carry out a
public information campaign targeting migrant populations in
Latin America to address the dangers of traveling across Mexico
to the United States and also to combat misinformation and
disinformation by nefarious actors regarding U.S. laws or
policies. The Committee adopted the second modification to the
Peters substitute amendment and the substitute amendment, as
twice modified, by unanimous consent with Senators Peters,
Hassan, Rosen, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Butler, Lankford, Scott, and
Hawley present.
The bill, as amended by the twice-modified Peters
substitute amendment, was ordered reported favorably by roll
call vote of 6 yeas to 3 nays, with Senators Peters, Hassan,
Rosen, Ossoff, Blumenthal, and Butler voting in the affirmative
and Senators Lankford, Scott and Hawley voting against.
Senators Carper and Sinema voted yea by proxy, and Senators
Paul, Johnson, Romney, and Marshall voted nay by proxy, for the
record only.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Cooperation on Combating Human Smuggling and Trafficking
Act.''
Section 2. Department of Homeland Security partnerships to combat
human smuggling and trafficking
Subsection (a) directs the Secretary of Homeland Security
to coordinate with federal partners to combat human smuggling
and trafficking by expanding cross-border criminal
investigations and providing enhanced training to partners.
Subsection (b) requires the Secretary of Homeland Security
to evaluate and submit a report to Congress on the potential
for expansion of collaborative programs with Homeland Security
Investigations (ICE) aimed at investigating and prosecuting
human smugglers and traffickers that pose border security
threats.
Subsection (c) directs the Secretary of DHS to carry out a
targeted public information campaign in Central American
countries on the dangers of travel across Mexico into the U.S.
The campaign must also seek to combat misinformation and
disinformation by transnational criminal organization in regard
to U.S. policies and laws.
Subsection (d) required the Governmental Accountability
Office (GAO) to conduct a study to assess the effectiveness of
public information campaigns implemented by DHS and submit a
report to Congress within 1 year of enactment.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation would make no change in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current
law.
[all]