The "Enhancing Southbound Inspections to Combat Cartels Act" aims to combat smuggling and trafficking by increasing inspections and law enforcement personnel along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Margaret "Maggie" Hassan
Senator
NH
The "Enhancing Southbound Inspections to Combat Cartels Act" aims to combat illegal trafficking by increasing inspections of vehicles and individuals traveling from the U.S. to Mexico. It mandates the purchase of additional inspection equipment, the hiring of more Homeland Security personnel, and increased reporting to Congress on inspection activities and seizures of illegal items. The Act sets a minimum inspection requirement of 10% of southbound vehicles by 2027 and requires a plan to increase this to 20%.
New Bill Targets Cartels with Increased Southbound Border Checks, More Agents, and Mandatory 10% Vehicle Inspections by 2027
This proposed legislation, the "Enhancing Southbound Inspections to Combat Cartels Act," aims to clamp down on illegal goods like cash and firearms flowing from the U.S. into Mexico. It authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to boost its inspection capabilities with new technology and mandates a significant increase in the percentage of vehicles checked heading south. At the same time, it directs U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hire more special agents focused specifically on cross-border smuggling investigations.
Southbound Scrutiny: What's Changing at the Border
The core idea here is to look harder at what's leaving the country. The bill gives CBP the green light to buy up to 50 new non-intrusive imaging systems – think large-scale scanners that can check vehicles without physically unpacking them – plus related infrastructure specifically for inspecting southbound traffic (Sec. 3). This authority lasts for five years. More significantly, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be required to inspect at least 10% of all vehicles and other transport heading into Mexico by March 30, 2027 (Sec. 6). This could mean more routine scanning or physical checks for folks driving south, potentially leading to longer wait times at border crossings for both personal travel and commercial trucking. The bill also requires DHS to figure out what it would take to eventually bump that inspection rate up to 15% and then 20%.
More Agents, Sharper Focus: Targeting Smugglers
Technology is only part of the plan. The bill also calls for more personnel focused on the investigations that follow potential discoveries at the border. It directs ICE to hire, train, and assign at least 100 new Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents specifically to investigate the smuggling of currency and firearms from the U.S. to Mexico. Another 100 new HSI agents are mandated to investigate contraband, human trafficking/smuggling, drug smuggling, and unauthorized entry coming into the U.S. (Sec. 4). Additional support staff can also be hired. This influx of agents is meant to strengthen the investigative muscle behind the border checks, aiming to dismantle the networks moving illegal goods and people.
Keeping Score: Reporting Back to Congress
To track progress and ensure accountability, the bill includes reporting requirements. Within a year, DHS must provide Congress with a detailed report covering current resources for both northbound and southbound inspections, how often these checks happen, and an assessment of Mexico's capacity to help combat smuggling (Sec. 5). This report will also estimate how many more vehicles could be scanned with the new equipment. Additionally, CBP must submit quarterly reports for four years detailing southbound seizures of currency, firearms, and ammunition (Sec. 7). These regular updates are designed to give lawmakers a clearer picture of whether the increased southbound focus is yielding results in stopping the flow of cash and guns that fuel cartel operations.