Enhancing Southbound Inspections to Combat Cartels Act

II Calendar No. 672 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1897 [Report No. 118–269] To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to enhance capabilities for outbound inspections at the southern land border, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 8, 2023 Ms. HASSAN (for herself, Mr. LANKFORD, and Mr. OSSOFF) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs DECEMBER 9, 2024 Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to enhance capabilities for outbound inspections at the southern land border, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhancing South- 4 bound Inspections to Combat Cartels Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1897 RS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 3 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 4 mittees’’ means— 5 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 6 the Senate; 7 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 8 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 9 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 10 Senate; 11 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 12 the House of Representatives; 13 (E) the Committee on Homeland Security 14 of the House of Representatives; and 15 (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 16 House of Representatives. 17 (2) SOUTHERN BORDER.—The term ‘‘Southern 18 Border’’ means the international land border be- 19 tween the United States and Mexico. 20 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTEC- 21 TION PERSONNEL FOR SOUTHBOUND IN- 22 SPECTIONS. 23 (a) CBP OFFICERS.—The Commissioner of U.S. 24 Customs and Border Protection shall hire, train, and as- 25 sign not fewer than 500 new officers to assist with inspec- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1897 RS tions of pedestrians, cars, trucks, and other modes of 1 transportation traveling from the United States to Mexico. 2 (b) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Commissioner of U.S. 3 Customs and Border Protection is authorized to hire, 4 train, and assign such additional support staff as may be 5 necessary to support the functions carried out by the offi- 6 cers hired pursuant to subsection (a). 7 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL INSPECTION EQUIPMENT AND INFRA- 8 STRUCTURE. 9 (a) IMAGING SYSTEMS.—The Commissioner of U.S. 10 Customs and Border Protection is authorized to purchase 11 up to 50 additional non-intrusive imaging systems, which 12 shall be deployed along the Southern Border for the pur- 13 pose of inspecting vehicles traveling from the United 14 States to Mexico. 15 (b) ALTERNATIVE EQUIPMENT.—The Commissioner 16 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is authorized to 17 purchase additional alternative equipment that the Com- 18 missioner deems necessary for the purpose of inspecting 19 individuals or vehicles traveling from the United States 20 to Mexico. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1897 RS SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGA- 1 TIONS PERSONNEL FOR INVESTIGATIONS OF 2 SOUTHBOUND SMUGGLING. 3 (a) HSI SPECIAL AGENTS.—The Director of U.S. 4 Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall hire, train, 5 and assign not fewer than 100 new Homeland Security 6 Investigations special agents to assist with investigations 7 involving the smuggling of currency and firearms from the 8 United States to Mexico. 9 (b) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Director is authorized to 10 hire, train, and assign such additional support staff as 11 may be necessary to support the functions carried out by 12 the special agents hired pursuant to subsection (a). 13 SEC. 6. REPORT. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home- 16 land Security shall submit a report to the appropriate con- 17 gressional committees that— 18 (1) identifies infrastructure limitations at any 19 individual port that may limit the ability of U.S. 20 Customs and Border Protection to deploy additional 21 inspection equipment and inspect vehicles and pedes- 22 trians traveling from the United States to Mexico; 23 (2) identifies the number of dedicated outbound 24 traffic lanes that are being used at each port of 25 entry along the Southern Border; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1897 RS (3) provides a detailed explanation of any plans 1 to expand the outbound lane capacity and inspection 2 capabilities at ports of entry along the Southern 3 Border; and 4 (4) describes any plans that would allow for the 5 use of alternative inspection sites near a port of 6 entry along the Southern Border. 7 (b) CLASSIFICATION.—The report submitted pursu- 8 ant to subsection (a), or any part of such report, may be 9 classified or provided with other appropriate safeguards 10 to prevent public dissemination. 11 SEC. 7. MINIMUM MANDATORY SOUTHBOUND INSPECTION 12 REQUIREMENT. 13 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland Se- 14 curity shall ensure that 20 percent of all vehicles traveling 15 from the United States to Mexico are inspected before 16 leaving the United States, to the extent practicable. 17 (b) AUTHORIZED INSPECTION ACTIVITIES.—Inspec- 18 tions required pursuant to subsection (a) may include non- 19 intrusive imaging, physical inspections by officers or ca- 20 nine units, or other means authorized by the Secretary 21 of Homeland Security. 22 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 23 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 24 Security shall submit a report to the appropriate congres- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1897 RS sional committees that describes the staffing model that 1 will be used to carry out the inspection requirement de- 2 scribed in subsection (a). 3 SEC. 8. SOUTHBOUND CURRENCY AND FIREARMS SEI- 4 ZURES QUARTERLY REPORT. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 6 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days there- 7 after until the date that is 4 years after such date of en- 8 actment, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 9 Protection shall submit a report to the appropriate con- 10 gressional committees that describes the seizure of cur- 11 rency, firearms, and ammunition attempted to be traf- 12 ficked from the United States to Mexico across the South- 13 ern Border. 14 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted pursuant to 15 subsection (a) shall include, for the most recent 90-day 16 period for which such information is available— 17 (1) the total number of currency seizures that 18 occurred from outbound inspections at United States 19 land ports of entry along the Southern Border; 20 (2) the total dollar amount associated with the 21 currency seizures referred to in paragraph (1); 22 (3) the total number of firearms seized from 23 outbound inspections at United States land ports of 24 entry along the Southern Border; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1897 RS (4) the total number of ammunition rounds 1 seized from outbound inspections at United States 2 land ports of entry along the Southern Border; and 3 (5) the total number of incidents of firearm sei- 4 zures and ammunition seizures that occurred at 5 United States land ports of entry along the South- 6 ern Border. 7 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 8 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhancing Southbound 9 Inspections to Combat Cartels Act’’. 10 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 11 In this Act: 12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit- 14 tees’’ means— 15 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of the 16 Senate; 17 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 18 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 19 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 20 Senate; 21 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the 22 House of Representatives; 23 (E) the Committee on Homeland Security 24 of the House of Representatives; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1897 RS (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 1 House of Representatives. 2 (2) SOUTHERN BORDER.—The term ‘‘Southern 3 Border’’ means the international land border between 4 the United States and Mexico. 5 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL INSPECTION EQUIPMENT AND INFRA- 6 STRUCTURE. 7 (a) IMAGING SYSTEMS.—The Commissioner of U.S. 8 Customs and Border Protection is authorized— 9 (1) to purchase up to 50 additional non-intru- 10 sive imaging systems; and 11 (2) to procure additional associated supporting 12 infrastructure. 13 (b) DEPLOYMENT.—The systems and infrastructure 14 purchased or otherwise procured pursuant to subsection (a) 15 shall be deployed along the Southern Border for the primary 16 purpose of inspecting any persons, conveyances, or modes 17 of transportation traveling from the United States to Mex- 18 ico. 19 (c) ALTERNATIVE EQUIPMENT.—The Commissioner of 20 U.S. Customs and Border Protection is authorized to pro- 21 cure additional infrastructure or alternative inspection 22 equipment that the Commissioner deems necessary for the 23 purpose of inspecting any persons, conveyances, or modes 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1897 RS of transportation traveling from the United States to Mex- 1 ico. 2 (d) SUNSET.—Subsections (a) and (c) shall cease to 3 have force and effect beginning on the date that is 5 years 4 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 5 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGA- 6 TIONS PERSONNEL FOR INVESTIGATIONS OF 7 SOUTHBOUND SMUGGLING. 8 (a) HSI SPECIAL AGENTS.—The Director of U.S. Im- 9 migration and Customs Enforcement shall hire, train, and 10 assign— 11 (1) not fewer than 100 new Homeland Security 12 Investigations special agents to primarily assist with 13 investigations involving the smuggling of currency 14 and firearms from the United States to Mexico; and 15 (2) not fewer than 100 new Homeland Security 16 Investigations special agents to assist with investiga- 17 tions involving the smuggling of contraband, human 18 trafficking and smuggling (including that of chil- 19 dren), drug smuggling, and unauthorized entry into 20 the United States from Mexico. 21 (b) SUPPORT STAFF.—The Director is authorized to 22 hire, train, and assign such additional support staff as may 23 be necessary to support the functions carried out by the spe- 24 cial agents hired pursuant to subsection (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1897 RS SEC. 5. REPORT. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Se- 3 curity shall submit a report to the appropriate congres- 4 sional committees that— 5 (1) identifies the resources provided, including 6 equipment, personnel, and infrastructure, and the an- 7 nual budget to carry out outbound and inbound in- 8 spections, including, to the extent practicable, re- 9 sources specifically used for inspections of any indi- 10 viduals and modes of transportation— 11 (A) from the United States to Mexico or to 12 Canada; and 13 (B) from Mexico or Canada into the United 14 States. 15 (2) describes the operational cadence of all out- 16 bound and inbound inspections of individuals and 17 conveyances traveling from the United States to Mex- 18 ico or to Canada and from Mexico or Canada into the 19 United States, described as a percentage of total en- 20 counters or as the total number of inspections con- 21 ducted; 22 (3) describes any plans that would allow for the 23 use of alternative inspection sites near a port of 24 entry; 25 (4) includes an estimate of— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1897 RS (A) the number of vehicles and conveyances 1 that can be inspected with up to 50 additional 2 non-intrusive imaging systems dedicated to 3 southbound inspections; and 4 (B) the number of vehicles and conveyances 5 that can be inspected with up to 50 additional 6 non-intrusive imaging systems that may be ad- 7 ditionally dedicated to inbound inspections along 8 the southwest border; and 9 (5) assesses the capability of inbound inspections 10 by authorities of the Government of Mexico, in co- 11 operation with United States law enforcement agen- 12 cies, to detect and interdict the flow of illicit weapons 13 and currency being smuggled— 14 (A) from the United States to Mexico; and 15 (B) from Mexico into the United States. 16 (b) CLASSIFICATION.—The report submitted pursuant 17 to subsection (a), or any part of such report, may be classi- 18 fied or provided with other appropriate safeguards to pre- 19 vent public dissemination. 20 SEC. 6. MINIMUM MANDATORY SOUTHBOUND INSPECTION 21 REQUIREMENT. 22 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than March 30, 2027, 23 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure, to the ex- 24 tent practicable, that not fewer than 10 percent of all con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1897.RS S1897 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1897 RS veyances and other modes of transportation traveling from 1 the United States to Mexico are inspected before leaving the 2 United States. 3 (b) AUTHORIZED INSPECTION ACTIVITIES.—Inspec- 4 tions required pursuant to subsection (a) may include non- 5 intrusive imaging, physical inspections by officers or ca- 6 nine units, or other means authorized by the Secretary of 7 Homeland Security. 8 (c) REPORT ON ADDITIONAL INSPECTIONS CAPABILI- 9 TIES.—Not later than March 30, 2028, the Secretary of 10 Homeland Security shall submit a report to the appropriate [Text truncated for display. 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