Senators push for more border security officers, surveillance technology to detect drugs coming in and guns going out in the FY25 government funding bill
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), as well as 14 of their colleagues, in a letter to Senate Appropriators urging them to provide federal law enforcement with the tools to combat the fentanyl crisis by continuing robust funding for border security and drug interdiction initiatives. In their letter, the senators push for funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire additional agents and purchase more surveillance technology for official ports of entry along the southern border, where illicit drugs are being smuggled in and firearms and currency are being trafficked out of the U.S. to be used by drug cartels. The senators also request more funding for law enforcement to investigate trafficking crimes and the transnational organizations, including drug cartels, perpetuating the fentanyl crisis in the U.S.
“We ask you to build upon past bipartisan investments to ensure that law enforcement officers at our Nation’s borders are equipped to combat the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs. We also ask you to provide robust funding to support the law enforcement agencies that are investigating smuggling and trafficking crimes and working to disrupt the transnational criminal networks that threaten our country and our communities,” the senators wrote.
You can find the full text of the letter HERE.
Senator Cortez Masto has been working to crack down on illicit drugs since she was first elected Attorney General, when she worked with Nevada’s Republican governor, law enforcement, and Mexican officials to combat the rise of methamphetamine manufacturing and cross-border drug trafficking. In the Senate, she has authored legislation to combat drug trafficking online that was signed into law, and passed critical legislation to address the opioid epidemic. She is leading bipartisan legislation to combat and schedule illicit xylazine, a highly dangerous sedative causing fatal overdoses nationwide.
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