The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act will increase staffing and technology to detect and stop the flow of fentanyl coming across the border
Bill strengthens security at ports of entry along southwest border, which is the most common way criminals smuggle fentanyl into the U.S.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) introduced legislation to crack down on fentanyl trafficking across the southern border. The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act would help U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hire more staff and install technology to detect illicit drugs and other contraband being smuggled through ports of entry. Cortez Masto recently visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and has called for more funding for border security.
“Our law enforcement officers need more resources to crack down on cartel drug trafficking and keep our communities safe,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This legislation will save lives by giving CBP much-needed resources to hire more personnel and purchase state-of-the-art technology to stop fentanyl smuggling across the border.”
The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act would help U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to hire more Officers and Border Patrol Agents to crack down on illicit drug smuggling. The bill provides funding for Non-Intrusive Inspection systems, which scan vehicles and cargo at the border to help detect trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs. The bill would also create an inspection program to increase seizure of firearms, which Mexican cartels frequently purchase in the United States and smuggle into Mexico to support their fentanyl production operations and other criminal enterprises.
In addition to Senators Cortez Masto, Casey and Kelly, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
Senator Cortez Masto has been working to crack down on illicit drugs since she served as Nevada’s Attorney General, when she worked with law enforcement, and Mexican officials to combat the rise of methamphetamine manufacturing and cross-border drug trafficking. In the Senate, she is a cosponsor of bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act to crack down on transnational drug trafficking. Cortez Masto has pushed for more funding for critical border security measures and has called on the Biden administration to prioritize additional resources to stop the flow of illicit drugs like fentanyl through ports of entry along the border. She recently voted to advance legislation to provide nearly $14 billion in funding to strengthen border security and humanely process migrants.
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