A bipartisan group of representatives including New Mexico’s Rep. Gabe Vasquez introduced a bill aiming to curb or eliminate the illegal fentanyl trade at U.S. border crossings this week.
Vasquez, a Democrat, represents New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the U.S. Border with Mexico.
The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act seeks to aid Customs and Border Patrol with hiring and retaining personnel and enhancing processing and inspection capabilities including for use in fentanyl and firearm interdiction. The bill also sets up reporting requirements and penalties.
Penalties include paying a fine and serving up to five years’ imprisonment.
“Fentanyl related overdoses are responsible for 70,000 deaths in this year alone, it is critical that Customs and Border Protection has the personnel, the technology and the resources necessary to prevent these deadly substances from entering the United States,” Vasquez said during a press conference Thursday.
The bill appropriates $5.3 billion to strengthen border security and aid in fentanyl interdiction, Vasquez said.
“We need CBP officers not to use their overtime, not to be overworked and underpaid, but to be used specifically for this cutting edge technology that can help better detect and stop fentanyl before it enters our country,” Vasquez said. “The Stop the Fentanyl at the Border Act also focuses on preventing the illegal exportation of goods, currency, firearms, which are often linked to drug trafficking.”
Vasquez also said that the bill is “more of a holistic approach that ensures we’re tackling the problem head to head from all angles.”
These include using technology such as non-intrusive inspection, or NII, technology that can detect contraband.
“NII technologies are viewed as force multipliers that enable us to screen or examine a larger portion of the stream of commercial traffic while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade, cargo, and passengers,” according to a CBP fact sheet on the technology.
Vasquez explained that NII uses an X-ray to scan vehicles, both commercial and non-commercial, more thoroughly than they have been previously inspected.
Including “to where we can look inside the structural beams of an actual trailer, or inside the tire,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez introduced the bill Wednesday with bipartisan support from Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, and Rep. Eric Sorenson, D-Illinois.
DeRemer said that Oregon had the highest rate of fentanyl overdoses in the country but that only about five to 10 percent of fentanyl was detected in seizures.
“We had enough pills to kill nearly 6 billion people. So five to 10 percent is all we can account for,” DeRemer said at the press conference. “We can only imagine what’s coming across that border. This is how every state including Oregon has turned into a border state.”
Sorensen agreed with DeRemer and Vasquez about the fentanyl crisis.
“This should really be front and center in our local communities, because we can all agree that this is something that needs to be talked about at the kitchen table. And we in Congress are coming together today to fight against the politics that divides us, but with a unified purpose,” Sorensen said. “I have said from day one that we, in Congress, we need to secure our southern border. The flow of drugs like fentanyl, it’s hurting American families. And I have spoken with several families who have been victimized by this epidemic. It is critical that we do everything that we can to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country.”
The bill was sent to the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate version of the bill was introduced earlier this year by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania.