The U.S. Senate unanimously approved late Monday legislation authored by U.S. Senators Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that will combat illegal tunnel activity along the Southwest border of the United States.
The bill will provide law enforcement and prosecutors with additional tools to locate illegal border tunnels, identify criminals, and punish those involved in illegal activity. The Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2011 builds on a related law Senators Kyl and Feinstein authored in 2006.
"Of the 135 illegal tunnels uncovered over the past decade, all but one have originated in Mexico, and exited in Arizona, California, or Texas," said Kyl. "These passages afford smugglers an unfettered means to illegally transport people and narcotics into our country. Not only does this pose a serious danger to the people who use the tunnels, but also to our national security. I urge the U.S. House of Representatives to swiftly approve companion legislation so that federal authorities can step up their efforts against this growing problem."
Just this past Friday, Mexican authorities uncovered tunnel activity in Nogales, Sonora. The entrance to that tunnel -- although not yet completed -- was found in a home blocks away from the U.S. border. Another tunnel, discovered on December 9, was suspected of being used to smuggle drugs into the United States. Two additional tunnels were discovered just a month prior, starting in Mexico and exiting in Arizona.
U.S. authorities also unearthed a cross-border tunnel in November that federal officials described as "the most sophisticated tunnel we have ever found." The 600-yard illegal passage, lined with wooden flooring, lighting, and ventilation, linked warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana. Its discovery resulted in the seizure of 32 tons of marijuana, one of the largest such seizures in U.S. history.
The Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2011 specifically makes the use, construction, or financing of a border tunnel a conspiracy offense; includes illegal tunneling as an offense eligible for Title III wiretaps (even when there are not drugs or other contraband to facilitate a wiretap); and specifies border tunnel activity as unlawful under existing forfeiture and money laundering provisions to allow authorities to seize assets in these cases.
The bill builds on legislation authored by Kyl and Feinstein, signed into law in 2007, that criminalized the construction, financing or use of an unauthorized tunnel or subterranean passage across an international border into the United States. It also imposed a punishment for anyone who negligently permits others to construct or use an unauthorized tunnel or subterranean passage on their land.
Companion legislation has been introduced in the House and is pending action.