WASHINGTON DC – Today, following her recent visit to the southern border, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) helped introduce legislation to reduce the flow of fentanyl by providing much-needed resources to secure the border. After meeting with border and law enforcement personnel earlier this month, Senator Rosen toured the Nogales-Mariposa Port of Entry, where she saw firsthand how U.S. Custom and Border Protection personnel use technology to prevent illegal drug smuggling into the United States. The Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act increases staffing capacity and invests in more technology to detect illicit drugs and other contraband being smuggled through ports of entry along the border.
“When I visited the southern border and spoke with Customs and Border Protection personnel about the work they do to stop the flow of fentanyl and drugs into our country, it was clear that they need more resources and technology to continue doing their jobs effectively,” said Senator Rosen. “As a result of those conversations, I’m helping introduce legislation to hire more agents and invest in new inspection technology to prevent illicit drugs and firearms from entering the United States. I’ll keep working to address this crisis and keep Nevadans safe.”
Specifically, the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act would provide funding for 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 invests in new Non-Intrusive Inspection systems, which scan vehicles and cargo at the border to provide detailed images of their interiors in order to detect fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Additionally, the bill would create an inspection program to increase the seizure of illegal 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.
Senator Rosen has consistently pushed to fix our broken immigration system by balancing critical border security measures with protections for Dreamers, TPS holders, and essential workers. Earlier this month, she visited the southern border and saw firsthand the need to hire more CBP officers and Border Patrol agents, fund new technology to crack down on drug trafficking, and fix our broken asylum process. Senator Rosen also called on the Biden administration to prioritize additional resources to stop the flow of illicit drugs like fentanyl through ports of entry along the border, and recently voted to advance legislation to provide nearly $14 billion in funding to strengthen border security and humanely process migrants. Last year, during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, Senator Rosen pushed Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on what additional resources the Department of Homeland Security needs to prevent fentanyl from being smuggled into the United States at ports of entry at the southwest border.
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