In a rare bipartisan show of unity, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill cracking down on the illegal use of tunnels by Mexican cartels beneath the U.S.-Mexico border. The measure, called the Subterranean Border Defense Act, passed with an impressive 402 to 1 vote, with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the lone dissenter.
This legislation, spearheaded by Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and co-sponsored by Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., seeks to tackle the growing problem of tunnels being used by criminal organizations to smuggle illicit goods and illegal immigrants across the border. The bill directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to submit an annual report to Congress on the activities of these cartels and outlines efforts to combat the underground smuggling operations.
The issue of cross-border tunnels has long been a concern for U.S. law enforcement. Since 1990, over 140 tunnels have been discovered that breach the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Rep. Crane, there has been an alarming 80% increase in tunnel activity since 2008. With border crossings reportedly decreasing since January, there are concerns that illicit activities will increasingly shift to subterranean routes as a means of evading detection.
Rep. Lou Correa echoed Crane’s sentiments, calling the legislation an important step to address the persistent problem of illicit cross-border tunnels. “This bill, if passed, will improve Congress’ efforts to counter illicit cross-border tunnels and hold bad actors accountable,” Correa said.
The bipartisan nature of the bill is noteworthy, especially considering the current political climate in Washington. Rep. Crane, a staunch conservative, was able to work with Rep. Correa, a moderate Democrat, to craft a proposal that attracted broad support across party lines. This cooperation stands in stark contrast to much of the gridlock that has plagued recent legislative efforts in Congress.
The legislation’s passage also comes amid heightened concerns over illegal immigration. A new report revealed that the illegal immigrant population in the U.S. hit a new high under the Biden administration, contributing to growing dissatisfaction among voters and being a driving factor for Trump’s reelection.
While the bill garnered overwhelming support, Rep. Tlaib’s opposition to the legislation has sparked intrigue. Her dissent is significant given the near-unanimous support from other lawmakers, but she has not publicly revealed her rationale for opposing the bill. Fox News Digital reached out to her office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
With the passage of this bill, the House has taken a decisive step toward ensuring that U.S. border security adapts to the evolving tactics of those seeking to exploit weaknesses in the system. The hope is that by targeting the use of tunnels, authorities can disrupt a key method of illegal activity and make significant strides in securing the southwestern border.
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Tlaib? Anything that hurts America she is for. This vote makes her even more radical and hateful than the rest of the squad.
Years ago, AMLO told Trump a wall alone would no work because of the tunnels. Didn’t anyone watch the TV series “Weeds” back in the day. Later in the series it was all about the tunnels connecting MX and USA. That wasn’t made up.
Not enough money in illegals to justify tunnels. They’re for drugs.
I appreciate very much this report and believe you do a much better job than most media of covering news most important to and interested in by a broad spectrum of American citizens.
This might sound brutal and reprehensive, but we are being treated maliciously by terrorists. Sometimes, to get the results we seek to remedy a situation; we must become the “bad guy.” This is my proposal… let them build their tunnels. When they are discovered, we wait for them to emerge shoot them dead and leave them at the end of the tunnel. That will send a message that we will not tolerate any invasion. Another way might be to introduce scorpions into the tunnels. Nah, not rattlesnakes, too easy a target. We must show how brutal we can be and that their behavior is completely unacceptable. The cartels have no compunction whatsoever to how they murder, even women and children. Why did God in ancient times allow complete populations to be destroyed? Because God wanted to send a message to all who defy Him that all evil must be eliminated. Yes, we might be more civilized as opposed to our ancestors, but there are evil people out there who we should not allow to live so long. “It’s not good for some people to live so long.” A quote from the movie titled, “My Name is Nobody.”