U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced legislation to reduce the flow of fentanyl by providing much-needed resources to secure the Southwest border.

The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act increases staffing capacity and technology to detect illicit drugs and other contraband being smuggled through ports of entry along the border. The bill targets the most common way that fentanyl is coming into the United States: through ports of entry along the Southwest border.

“The flow of fentanyl into New Mexico has devastated families and their communities. This is a crisis resulting in thousands of deaths, and more investments are urgently needed to increase staffing at the border and boost technology to detect fentanyl,” Sen. Luján said. “I have long advocated for 100 percent border screening, and this legislation is one more tool to stop the flow of illicit drugs from entering through the Southwest border. Congress must take action to invest in border security, hold criminals accountable, and put an end to the fentanyl crisis.”

“So much of the fentanyl devastating Pennsylvania families and communities is being smuggled across our southern border,” Sen. Casey said. “This bill will help stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and provide the hardworking law enforcement officers at the border with the resources, technology, and support they need to do their jobs and secure our border. This bill is a part of a multipronged approach to end the fentanyl crisis by cracking down on the criminals producing and smuggling fentanyl, securing our border, and providing the Americans impacted by fentanyl with the help they need.”

“Border Patrol and Port Officers have been stretched far too thin as they do the difficult job of keeping our country safe every single day,” Sen. Kelly said. “This bill would give federal law enforcement the additional personnel and technology needed to keep our ports of entry fully staffed, stem the flow of illegal drugs, and secure the border.”

The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act would enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to hire more Officers and Border Patrol Agents to increase capacity to stop illicit smuggling over the border. The bill also provides funding to purchase Non-Intrusive Inspection systems, which scan vehicles and cargo at the border to provide detailed images of their interiors, which leads to the detection of fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Additionally, the bill would 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 violent criminal enterprises.

The bill is cosponsored by Senators Cortez Masto (D-NV), Rosen (D-NV), Baldwin (D-WI), Klobuchar (D-MN), Warner (D-VA), and Brown (D-OH).